


A New Beginning

by HerImperiousCondescension



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kaneki Ken Is Alive, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor Kaneki, Post-Aogiri Kaneki, Shironeki | White-haired Kaneki, kaneki doesn't actually die, starts out sad but it gets better i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2018-06-03 18:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerImperiousCondescension/pseuds/HerImperiousCondescension
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaneki has failed - he couldn't protect the ones he cared about. Standing atop the highest skyscraper in Tokyo, he feels he has nothing to live for. He jumps, but it doesn't quite work out as planned, as he wakes up in Feudal Japan. When he meets Kagome and her friends, he realizes: he has a second chance. This could be... a new beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note: I'm not great at descriptions, so knowledge of both canons is recommended, but not required. I try to at least explain things, though, so hopefully you won't be too lost. ^^;
> 
> I do not own Tokyo Ghoul nor InuYasha.
> 
> Please enjoy the story!

 

Kaneki couldn't take it anymore.

He had failed everyone. He couldn't do anything right. He couldn't even do the  _one thing_ that he had set out to do: protect the ones he cared about.

He despised himself for it.

Now everyone was gone. Everyone—and everything—he had sworn to protect.

Gone.

Anteiku… Touka… Nishiki… Hinami… Manager…

_Hide._

Kaneki felt he had nothing to live for.

As he stood atop the highest skyscraper in Tokyo, he looked out over the city that had caused him so much pain one last time.  _It's funny,_ he thought. _It's funny how something so beautiful on the outside can turn out to be the ugliest thing you can imagine on the inside… just like me._ He sighed.  _I just wish I could do it all over again; do everything differently. Maybe my life could have gone better_ … 

He felt the wind in his hair as he took a deep breath and a step—

a step right off the skyscraper.

_This must be what it's like to fly…_

He listened to the peoples' screams as he watched the ground approaching. He closed his eyes, preparing to meet it head-first.

_Three… Two… One…_

**THUD.**

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Kaneki**

Kaneki slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on his back in the grass as sunlight filtered through the tree branches directly overhead, causing him to squint.  _It's pretty,_ he thought.  _But… I wasn't supposed to wake up._   _I'm not supposed to be_ alive.

He gathered the strength to slowly stand up. It was only now that he wondered where he was. It was clear that he was in a forest, but where  _was_ he. Still wearing his mask, he quickly climbed the nearest tree—a pine—thankful that he was also still in his combat suit; it allowed for swift, easy movement. He reached the top, balancing on the highest branch that could support him.

He was confused by what he saw; he most definitely was no longer in Tokyo. It was a rural area. A  _very_  rural area. There were only trees and fields to be seen in every direction, with some mountains in the far distance. With his enhanced vision, he could make out what appeared to be a small village a little way off, made out of very small wooden houses, if they could even be called houses.

_It's almost as if I've gone back in time._

He didn't bother climbing down the tree. He jumped, landing on his feet, bending his knees to prevent damage. He started to head towards the village.

* * *

 

Kaneki had traveled about three fourths of the distance to the village and was well out of the forest, though heading into another. He was walking through a large field—about 30 feet from the forest—when he was attacked by what he could only describe as a  _demon._  It was an ogre-like thing, heavily muscled, about fourteen feet tall and wearing furs. It carried a mean-looking club.

Kaneki had half a mind to just let it kill him.

But, considering his surroundings and the fact that there was a demon in front of him, he concluded that he was not in his world anymore—he was somewhere completely different. Somewhere that was far away from his problems.

Somewhere that could be a fresh start.

_Maybe I could begin again… I'd just leave it all behind. I could forget what I've done, everyone I've failed to sav-_  he sighed.  _Let's not think about that._

Lost in thought, he almost didn't dodge the first strike from the ogre demon.  _Almost._  He sidestepped just in time. The club came smashing down beside him, creating a dent in the earth.

_Considering how big this thing is, it should be a lot slower,_ thought Kaneki.

He was right. Little did he know that the demon had two shards of the Shikon no Tama—the Jewel of Four Souls—embedded in its back. The shards of the Sacred Jewel greatly enhanced the owner's power when ingested or put in the body.

The ogre demon roared in frustration, and—to Kaneki's surprise—spoke.

"You're gonna be a pain, aren'tcha?"

Distracted again, Kaneki was hit this time. He crossed his arms in a block, but the demon had swept its hand along the ground sideways, knocking him to the left about ten feet. He quickly recovered, determined not to lose focus this time.

"What, you're not gonna answer me? Don'tcha know that's disrespectful to your superiors?!"

Kaneki leapt forward, putting only about half his strength into the punch. He wanted to get back at this idiot demon for both striking him and the things that it said.

He would make sure that it suffered.

The demon's head whipped to the side as Kaneki's fist made contact with its cheek, almost breaking its neck and temporarily stunning it. Kaneki twisted in the air, kicking upwards and hitting the bottom of its jaw. The demon's head snapped upwards as its entire body was thrown back, sending it crashing into the ground.

Kaneki took this opportunity to leap on top of the demon's chest. It tried to grab Kaneki, but Kaneki put all the force and speed he could into a roundhouse kick, and kicked its hand clean off. It bellowed in pain as blood spurted from the wound and tried to grab Kaneki with its other hand, but it had the same result.

Kaneki now stomped his leg through its chest, twisting his foot as the demon roared in pain once again. He bent down so he was face to face with the dying demon. He cracked a knuckle.

"What's one thousand minus seven?"

And with that, he punched the demon's head clean through, killing it instantly.

He stepped off of the demon and gave it one more kick for good measure, flipping it onto its stomach. He started to walk away, but stopped. Kaneki had noticed two shiny, pink shards of what looked like crystal embedded in the demon's back. Feeling compelled to take them—like they might be important—he removed them from the demon and put them in his pocket.

He resumed his journey to the village, disappearing into the forest. He was not aware of the two figures watching him from the branches of a nearby tree.

* * *

 

**Inuyasha & Kagome**

Kaede had sent Kagome and Inuyasha to eliminate a demon that had been seen wandering near the village. As they neared the area where it had last been seen, they heard a roar of rage from, presumably, the demon. Kagome started to run to help whoever could be there, but Inuyasha held her back.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?! Someone might be in danger!" yelled Kagome.

"Wait, quiet. Something smells off," Inuyasha whispered.

"Well, duh! That would be the  _demon._ "

"Yeah, but I smell something else. It smells like a human, but not quite."

"You mean like a half-demon?"

"Maybe. Come on, let's get a better look."

Kagome hopped onto Inuyasha's back, holding on tightly. He leapt up into a tree, jumping between branches to reach the source of the roar. As they got closer, Kagome sensed the presence of two shards of the Sacred Jewel.

"Inuyasha, be careful. This demon has two Sacred Jewel shards."

"Got it," he replied.

Eventually, they were close enough to see what was happening. Inuyasha stood on the branch in shock, and Kagome's jaw dropped.

There was a man fighting the ogre demon—about thirty feet away from the forest—in the field. It wasn't the white hair, the black nails, the mask, or the combat suit that got their attention, though. It was the fact that he had just kicked the demon's hand clean off— _twice._  They watched as he stomped his foot through the demon's chest, bending down so he was face to face with it.

"What's. . . -us seven?"

Kagome didn't quite hear what he said.

"Inuyasha, did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

"What'd he say?"

"'What's one thousand minus seven'."

"Wh-"

She was interrupted by a cracking, squelching sound. She looked over and saw that the man had punched through the demon's head, shattering its skull and spilling blood and brain matter everywhere.

Kagome was torn between being amazed and disgusted. On one hand, a human had just kicked a demon's hand off  _twice_  and shattered its skull with his bare hands. On the other hand,  _a human had just kicked a demon's hand off_ twice  _and shattered its skull with his bare hands._

Both Inuyasha and Kagome watched as the man kicked the demon onto its back, removed the two Scared Jewel shards, and put them in his pocket.

 


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Responses to Comments--  
> Gvymamdvcnj131309: Glad you like it!

**Kagome**

"That's weird," said Kagome. "Why would he just take the jewel shards and not use them?"

"I don't know, and I don't intend to find out. I'm just gonna get 'em back!" Inuyasha replied, drawing his sword.

"Inuyasha, wait!"

The words weren't even halfway out of Kagome's mouth when Inuyasha jumped down out of the tree, landing directly in front of the man who had just felled a demon with his bare hands.

"Alright, hand over the Sacred Jewel shards!" he growled.

The man hadn't even jumped when Inuyasha landed in front of him; he just looked at the guy with dog ears and a giant sword with a bored expression. After a few seconds, the man reached into his pocket, pulled out the shards, and tossed them at (a very confused) Inuyasha, who caught them.

Meanwhile, Kagome had gotten down from the tree. She ran up to Inuyasha and the other man.

"Hey, Inuyasha! I said to wait!"

"Well, I couldn't just let him get away with the jewel shards!" he said, handing them to her.

"You still could have waited!"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and looked away.

"Tch. Whatever."

Kagome then turned to the white-haired man, the strangeness of his appearance just now hitting her: white hair, gray, emotionless eyes, a mask with grinning, lip-less teeth, and a skin-tight combat suit. It unnerved her a bit, but she tried not to let it show.

"Hi!" she said. "I'm Kagome Higurashi. What's your name?"

"Ken Kaneki," he said with a slight bow. "But please, call me Kaneki."

Kagome bowed back; Inuyasha spoke up.

"Hey, what's with the mask? And the outfit, for that matter. And why do you only smell half human?!"

Kaneki involuntarily stiffened.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He took off his mask and slipped it into his pocket. In its place, he put on a medical eyepatch that covered his left eye. Kagome looked at him questioningly, but didn't say anything about it.

"Bull-" Inuyasha started, but Kagome interrupted him.

"Kaneki," she said. "We were actually sent to kill that demon, but you beat us to it. Would you like to come back to the village and get something to eat? It's the least we can do."

He seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Sure. One question, though: where am I?"

* * *

**Kaneki**

On the way back to the village, Kagome explained to Kaneki where—and when—he was, the situation with Naraku and the Sacred Jewel, the existence of demons in this world, and the fact that Inuyasha was a half-demon. She also mentioned the Bone-Eater's Well and how it allowed her to travel from her time to the Feudal Era and back. He, in turn, explained how he, too, was from modern-day Tokyo, though from a different universe, it seemed. He omitted the parts about the skyscraper and his Ghoul nature. When Kagome asked how he ended up in the Feudal Era, he told the truth: he had absolutely no idea.

The sun had started to set, and the village was finally in sight. Kaneki noticed an older woman, who appeared to be waiting for Kagome and Inuyasha's return, standing on the outskirts of the village.

"Lady Kaede!" Kagome shouted. "We're back!"

"I can see that; welcome back, Kagome," Kaede said. "I trust that the demon has been taken care of?"

"Yep!"

"Good. Now, who is this young man you have with you?"

"Oh, that's Ken Kaneki. You can just call him Kaneki, though. He's actually from Tokyo like I am!"

Kaneki gave a slight bow in greeting.

"Ah. Come here, Kaneki. Let me have a look at you. This is the demon's blood ye are covered in, I presume?"

"Yes."

"I see. Ye are the one who killed it, then?"

Kagome, who had decided on 'amazed,' answered for him.

"Yeah! You should have seen him, Lady Kaede. It was amazing! He defeated a fourteen-foot-tall ogre demon with his bare hands!"

"Did he, now?"

"Mhm!"

"Impressive. Inuyasha!" she called.

"What d'you want, old hag?" he said.

"Inuyasha! Don't be so rude!" said Kagome.

Inuyasha ignored her.

"Take Kaneki down to the river. Show him where it is so he can wash this blood off."

"Tch, fine. C'mon," said Inuyasha, turning and leaving. Kaneki followed.

* * *

The walk to the river was silent, neither one talking to the other. That changed once they reached the river, though. Inuyasha abruptly moved to stand in front of Kaneki, blocking his path.

"I know you're not human," he said.

"I-"

"Don't try to deny it. I can _smell_ that you're not human. Not entirely, at least. Whatever you are, it's something that I've never smelled before. So, spill it. What are you?"

Kaneki remained silent for a few moments, carefully choosing his words.

"…You're a half demon; I'm guessing you understand what it's like to not fit in—to have nowhere you belong. I'm the same way: half human, not belonging to either side. So, I hope you'll understand when I say I think it's best if you don't know. At least for now. Maybe someday, though. When we all know each other better."

"You make it sound like you plan on staying."

"I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"What about your world? What about your family? Friends? You've gotta have _someone_ to go back to."

Kaneki retained an emotionless expression, though he was breaking on the inside—not that he wasn't broken already.

"They're all dead. Dead or gone. It got too dangerous where we were, so they fled. I stayed behind. It was too risky for me to be with them."

"O-Oh. Uh," Inuyasha stammered.

"It's fine. You don't have to say anything."

"A-Alright. Just promise me one thing, though. Promise me that you won't hurt Kagome or any of her friends."

"Of course."

Inuyasha gave a small nod of acknowledgment and headed back towards the village. Meanwhile, while cleaning the blood off of himself, Kaneki mentally berated himself over the fact that he made yet _another_ promise that he probably wouldn't be able to keep.

* * *

**Inuyasha**

When Inuyasha made it back to the village, he found Kagome talking with Kaede in the priestess' hut. They were sitting around the fire pit, discussing various topics between bites of stew. He gladly joined them—even if only for the meal (and Kagome's presence). Eventually, they came to the topic of the mysterious Kaneki.

"He has an evil aura about him, Kagome. Ye must be careful," Kaede said.

"Don't worry, I will," replied Kagome. "Though, to be honest, he really doesn't seem like he means us any harm. A little distant—maybe even cold—, yes, but I feel like he's really a good person."

"I'd use the term 'person' a little more loosely, if I were you," said Inuyasha. "He doesn't smell like you, Kagome. He doesn't smell _human._ "

"That doesn't mean he's not a person!"

"Look, Kagome. On the way to the river, I confronted him about not being human—at least, not entirely. Do you know what he said? He said that it's probably 'best if we don't know.'"

"Okay, bu-"

Inuyasha started to shout.

"And another thing! I asked him about his world or whatever, and he told me that all his friends are either dead or they ran away. He said that he stayed behind because it was ' _too risky_ ' for him to be with them! How do we know that _he_ _'_ _s_ not what they were running away from?!"

While Inuyasha had been shouting about all this, Lady Kaede, much to Kagome's dismay, had been nodding in agreement.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It sure has been a while, huh? Oops. Let's just say that having an actual life sucks, and I tend to edit the absolute hell out of everything I write. Hence why I never get anything done. Anyway, I want to just say that I haven't watched Inuyasha in a while (like, years), so I really do apologize if anyone seems out-of-character, etc. I'm trying to get around to watching it, but like I said: life sucks.

**Kaneki**

It was dark out by now. Back from washing the blood off, Kaneki had stopped just outside of the village to listen to the shouting he heard coming from Kaede's hut. Kagome was trying to reason with Kaede and Inuyasha. The half-demon was now shouting about him.

". . .How do we know that _he_ _'_ _s_ not what they were running away from?!"

Kaneki's eyes widened.

_How do I know that they_ _'_ _re not right?_

He had already been in a very fragile emotional state, just teetering on the very edge of a breakdown. Everything that had happened was taking its toll, and not just what had happened since arriving in the Feudal Era. Everything since he became a Ghoul weighed down on him, cracking what little emotional strength he had left.

_I didn_ _'_ _t want to become a Ghoul, but I did. I don't want to eat humans, but I have to. I didn't want to be tortured, but I was. I didn't want to leave Anteiku, but I had to. I didn't want my friends to leave me, but they did. I wanted to die, but I didn't. I didn't want to arouse suspicion here, but I did. I almost had another chance, but not anymore._

He bit his fist to keep from making a sound as a sob wracked his body. He had thought he could start again here. Apparently, he was wrong. Again.

_My one chance at a new beginning_ _…_ _gone._

Rain started to fall. The quiet pitter-patter of the water droplets hitting the ground and the roofs of the huts created a calm, soothing atmosphere. Calm and soothing just so happened to be the exact opposite of what Kaneki was feeling right now. Water dripped from his now-soaked hair and mixed with his tears. He squeezed his eyes shut as his thoughts raced and he mumbled to himself, clutching his head.

"I shouldn't have said anything! I could have just denied the accusation again! I'm such an idiot. What the fuck was I thinking?! I'm so fucking stupid I'm a monster I don't deserve to live I don't deserve to live I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE! I SHOULD JUST KILL MYS-"

He had started to yell without realizing it.

His eyes shot open when he felt arms wrap around him. He started to struggle, but stopped once he realized that it was just Kagome, who was… _hugging_ him?

"Why?" he whispered.

"Kaneki, listen. We may have only just met today, but I can tell you for a _fact_ : you _do_ deserve to live. You're not a monster, and you're not stupid. I can tell that you care deeply for others. I'm sorry about your friends. I'm sorry for whatever you went through that makes you think these things about yourself, and I want you to know: you're welcome here. You're welcome either in my time, or in this time, or both. Okay?"

_No, no, NO! You_ _'_ _re wrong! You have no idea what I went through, you have no idea what I've_ done. _You won_ _'_ _t welcome me if—no,_ when _—you find out what I am. I_ am _a monster, and I_ _'_ _m not welcome_ anywhere _!_

"…Okay."

"Alright. Come on, let's get inside. It's freezing out here _and_ raining! I don't know how you can stand it."

* * *

**Kagome**

While they walked back to the hut in the rain, Kagome worried. She had a feeling that she'd be doing quite a bit of that, now.

_What could have possibly happened to him? Maybe it has something to do with his white hair and black nails? The white hair almost looks like Marie Antoinette Syndrome_ _…_

They arrived. Kagome entered Kaede's hut first, greeting Kaede and glaring daggers at Inuyasha, who didn't look guilty in the slightest. She had no doubt that they had heard him yelling. When Kaneki walked in after her, Inuyasha stood up, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Inuyasha, don't," Kagome said icily.

" _Fine._ I was just leaving, anyway!" he sneered, stomping out of the hut.

"I apologize for his behavior," Kaede said once Inuyasha had left. "He has quite the temper."

It was clear to Kagome that Lady Kaede was just being polite, but Kaneki either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"Don't worry about it," he said flatly. His emotionless mask was up again.

"Now," Kagome said, sitting down near the fire and the remains of the pot of stew. "How about something to eat?"

"No thank you. I'm not hungry,"

"What?! How can you not be hungry after today?"

"I don't know. I'm just not."

"But-"

"I think I'd just like to sleep, now. Where will I be staying, if anywhere?"

"Kaneki! Of course you'll be staying somewhere. Where? I don't know, but we'll figure something out."

Kagome thought for a minute.

"Oh, I know! But I'll have to get some things, first. I'll be right back!"

* * *

**Kaneki**

Before Kaneki had a chance to ask Kagome just _where_ she was going, she was out of the hut and jogging towards what Kaneki presumed to be the Bone-Eater's Well that she had told him about. He jogged after her, quickly catching up.

"I'm guessing that you're going back to your time?" he asked.

"Yep!" she replied

"Why?"

"I have an idea as to where you can stay, but you'll need some regular clothes, first. Your current outfit would probably attract a lot of unwanted attention."

"Ah. Yes, you're probably right," said Kaneki.

She stopped when she reached the well, as did he.

"Okay, I'll be back in a little bit," Kagome said, putting one foot on the Well's edge. She then turned to Kaneki. "And, Kaneki?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to let Inuyasha or his comments get to you. It usually takes a while, but he'll warm up to you, eventually." _…I hope._

"I'll be fine."

Kagome gave him a skeptical look, but started to leave, anyway.

"Okay, then. See ya!" Kagome said as she put her other foot on the edge and jumped into the Well. Kaneki watched in amazement (though the only sign was a very slight widening of his eyes) as she didn't hit the bottom, but was engulfed by a pinkish-purple light, and was gone.

_Huh. Interesting._

Now Kaneki was left alone with his thoughts. He knew that he wasn't very welcome in the village, so he decided it would probably be best to wait nearby until Kagome came back. He quickly scaled a tree that was about twenty feet away from the Well, found an at least semi-comfortable spot on one of the lower branches, and laid down. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander.

At first, his thoughts were good ones; they were happy memories in no particular order. He remembered helping Hinami learn to read. He remembered Touka and Nishiki's "nicknames" for each other: Ni-shitty and Shitty Touka. He remembered Hetare, the bird Hinami had for a while. He remembered the Manager, and learning how to properly make coffee. He thought of how everyone had come so far and had eventually come together, forming a type of one big happy-but-dysfunctional "family."

As much as he tried to keep the good memories at the surface, the dark ones always found a way up.

His "date" with Rize. Finding out he was now a half-Ghoul. Nishiki attacking him and Hide. Kaneki almost _eating_ Hide in that same incident. Pushing his best friend away. Being kidnapped by Yamori. The torture at the hands of Yamori. Eventually, but unintentionally, pushing all of his friends away. His friends leaving. His friends dying. _Hide_ dying.

The moment he decided that everyone would be better off without him.

Lost in thought, he almost didn't hear Kagome calling his name.

"…-Neki!"

_What_ _…_ _?_ he thought, slowly coming back into reality.

"Kaneki! Where are you?"

_Oh. Kagome_ _'_ _s back._

He grabbed the branch and lowered himself closer to the ground before gracefully and silently dropping down from the tree. Kagome's back was to him and she was carrying a plastic shopping bag. His footsteps, as usual, made almost no sound on the grass. That coupled with the crinkling of the bag completely masked any noise Kaneki's steps might have made.

"Kanek-"

"Yes?"

She let out a small _Eek!_ , quickly turning around. He had unintentionally snuck up on her.

* * *

**Kagome**

"There you are. You scared me!"

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Anyway, I have some new clothes for you!"

Kagome pulled a shoebox and a few items of clothing out of the bag and handed them to Kaneki. There were several pairs of black and dark gray jeans, a few black and gray-ish black t-shirts, a black hoodie, black socks, and a pair of plain black sneakers with dark gray treads. Kaneki looked at Kagome questioningly.

"What? You just didn't seem like someone who wears bright colors. Plus, I thought you might like something similar to what you're currently wearing," Kagome said sheepishly, glancing at the ground, which had suddenly seemed to become very interesting.

"Thank you, Kagome," said Kaneki, reassuring her. "These are perfect, actually." _Easy to move in, so easy to fight in,_ he thought to himself.

"Really?" she asked. "Well, that's good, then! Glad you like them."

Kaneki began to walk into the forest.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To change. Unless you'd like me to change right there," Kaneki said jokingly, but because of his monotone voice and lack of expression, Kagome couldn't tell if it was a joke or not.

"O-Oh! No! That's okay! I'll wait here!" she said, turning around to both give Kaneki some privacy and to hide the fact that she was blushing furiously.

A few minutes later, Kaneki walked out of the forest wearing a pair of the black jeans, one of the gray-ish black t-shirts, and the black hoodie. He had also changed into the socks and shoes, and was still wearing the medical eyepatch. He had his combat suit draped over his left arm.

"What now?" he asked.

Kagome replied with a question of her own.

"Are you tired?"

"I suppose so."

"You 'suppose'?! Kaneki, you went through a _lot_ today. It must've been hell! How do you just _suppose_ you're tired?!"

Kaneki lowered his head and looked off to the side.

"I guess you could say that I've built up quite a bit of endurance from my past," he said quietly.

_Crap,_ thought Kagome. _I shouldn_ _'_ _t have gone there. I guess I shouldn't ask about the eyepatch, either…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse the abrupt ending; I just wanted to get SOMETHING out for you all. Next chapter is in progress!


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So I've finally gotten around to watching Inuyasha, but I've only watched up to episode 5. I'll probably skip some so I can get an immediate refresher on Sango's, Miroku's, Shippo's, and Kirara's personalities. I'm not quite sure when they'll show up, though, to be honest.

**Kaneki**

After a quick explanation from Kagome on where he'll be staying and a trip through the Bone-Eater's Well, Kaneki now stood just outside the Shrine with her.

The feeling of traveling through the Well had been strange, to say the least. He had felt a kind of twisting in his gut, and then had found himself standing on the other side. He could tell it was the other side because there was a roof over him, and the scents in the air were completely different.

Feudal Japan had a more woodsy, natural smell, while the other side smelled almost exactly like his version of Tokyo, though, at the same time, it smelled nothing like his version of Tokyo. There was also something just _off_ about it that he couldn't quite place.

"Are you sure about this?" Kaneki asked incredulously.

He and Kagome were standing outside her front door; Kaneki was holding the plastic bag with his combat suit in it. It was around 11:00 PM, and the lights were still on in the house.

"Of course I am! My mom has gotten used to all the weirdness that comes along with me traveling back in time," Kagome replied. "She's met _Inuyasha._ So, believe me when I say that she won't mind you staying here."

"But it's practically midnight and I'm pretty much some guy you just picked up off the streets."

"Shush! No arguing. You're going to sleep on the couch, and that's that. Also, you're not just 'some guy.' You're a friend!"

That last statement took Kaneki by surprise, but he kept his calm, apathetic demeanor.

"If you insist."

And with that, Kagome opened the front door and walked in.

* * *

**Kagome**

"Mom! Grandpa! Sota! I'm home!" Kagome yelled.

Sota ran around the corner.

"Kagome! You were gone for a long time, this time. We were starting to worry!" he said.

"I'm fine, Sota. There's no need to worry," she said, trying to reassure him; Sota, however, was too busy staring at Kaneki, who was standing silently behind Kagome.

"Who's he, Kagome? He looks scary."

"Sota! That's rude. Apologize!" Kagome said sternly.

"But he does!"

Kagome sighed.

"Sota, his name is Kaneki, and he's not going to hurt you or anyone else, got it?"

The child looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned mischievously.

"Okay!" he said, then ran off to another room, where Kaneki and Kagome heard him yelling.

"MOM! GRANDPA! Kagome has a new boyfriend!"

The two shared equally horrified looks as Kagome's mother and Grandpa Higurashi walked into the room. The latter walked forward until he was directly in front of Kaneki and scrutinized him closely. Eventually, he turned to Kagome.

"He better not be a troublemaker like Inuyasha!" he said to her.

Kagome was completely red-faced in both embarrassment and anger.

"Grandpa, it's not like that! We-"

"Don't be shy about your relationship!" he interrupted. "It'll be fine as long as he's not some irresponsible hooligan like that half-demon."

"GRANDPA! We're! Not! Dating! He's a friend. _Just_ a _friend_ ," Kagome said, exasperated.

Grandpa Higurashi was seemingly startled by this revelation. Before he could say anything else, Mrs. Higurashi intervened. She gave Kagome's grandfather a meaningful look.

"Why don't you help me out and go warm up the leftovers from dinner? I'm sure Kagome and her friendare starving," she said.

"Yes. Yes, okay. Good idea," he replied, walking off to the kitchen, almost in a daze. They could hear Sota cackling in the other room. Kagome sighed again.

"Thanks, Mom," she said. "And I'm sorry about that, Kaneki. I probably should have warned you about HOW IMMATURE THOSE TWO CAN BE!" She yelled the last part in the direction of the kitchen, where both Grandpa and Sota were, now.

"Don't worry about it. Though, it seems to me," Kaneki said, "that those two are more prone to trouble-making than I am."

"You're telling me," said Kagome.

"I'm leaning towards agreeing with you, Kaneki," Mrs. Higurashi said to him. "It's nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Kagome's mother. The two 'troublemakers' are Kagome's little brother and grandfather." She bowed.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Higurashi." Kaneki said, bowing back.

Kagome's mother gestured for them to follow her to the kitchen.

"Let's see if they've gotten the food ready."

Kaneki and Kagome took off their shoes, Kagome practically running towards the kitchen.

* * *

**Kaneki**

"Let's see if they've gotten the food ready."

Taking off his shoes and setting the bag down, Kaneki thought over his options: he could either try to pretend to eat even though he _knew_ he wouldn't be able to keep it down _during_ dinner after everything that had happened today (even the smell was making him feel sick), or he could make up an excuse and hope that it doesn't look too suspicious.

"Come on, Kaneki!" Kagome yelled from the kitchen. "There's no way you're not hungry, now!"

_Dammit._

Kaneki stood just outside of the kitchen.

_The kitchen with all the people_ _… with all the_ _**meat.** _

Kaneki remembered the twisting in his gut from traveling through the Well, earlier. He then had a terrible epiphany:

_That wasn't from traveling_ _… I'm getting hungry. Shit._

Standing in the doorway, Kaneki did his best to ignore the intoxicating scent of humans and focus on the nauseating scent of the humans' food.

_I_ _'m surprised that I've gone this long without eating, actually. It's been almost two and half months since I last ate. I was going to die anyway, so I didn't see the point in eating. But, that still doesn't change the fact that I'll need to eat pretty—no,_ very _—soon_ _…_

"Actually, Kagome," Kaneki said tiredly, "I think I need rest more than anything, right now." He yawned. _I must be more exhausted than I thought._

"Alright, fine! Miss out on all of this _delicious_ food," said Kagome, waving a fork full of noodles in front of Kaneki.

He did his best not to grimace.

"I think you mentioned something about the couch?"

Kagome gave him a calculating look.

* * *

**Kagome**

"I think you mentioned something about the couch?"

Kagome looked at him, her mind running a mile a minute.

_Alright, this is getting kind of weird. A normal human would be_ starving _after not having eaten for this long. And he didn_ _'t say anything about having eaten something earlier, so who knows_ how _long it_ _'s been? But then again, he kicked a demon's hand off. Twice. Something tells me that he's not a normal human after all._

"Yes, I did. Let me go get some pillows and blankets. I'll be right back," she said, leaving the kitchen and disappearing up the stairs.

Heading towards the closet in the hall, Kagome absentmindedly grabbed two pillows and a thick blanket, still wondering about Kaneki.

_If he_ does _turn out to only be half human, then what could he be? Maybe it_ _'s something specific to his world. Either way, he's nice. And even though neither Lady Kaede or Inuyasha trust him,_ I _do. I mean, it_ _'s not like he's some man-eating monster!_

She headed back down the stairs, carrying the bedding. When she entered the living room, she found Kaneki already fast asleep on the couch. He was on his side with his arm bent so his head was resting on it, facing the back of the couch. His eyepatch was lying on the arm of the couch.

_Well, at least we know he gets tired,_ she thought, setting the pillows beside the couch and covering him with the blanket. She caught a glimpse of his left eye.

_Huh. Looks pretty normal to me. I wonder why he wears it._

* * *

_It was three days after the first night Kaneki had stayed at Kagome's house. Everything had been peaceful, and he had even agreed to help Kagome and her friends search for the Sacred Jewel. They had talked, long conversations that helped them get to know each other better. Kagome had decided that Kaneki meant them zero harm, no matter what Inuyasha and Lady Kaede said._

_He did seem a little distant at times, and often disappeared from the house for hours, but she figured that he was just getting to know his way around the city._

_She had no way of knowing that Kaneki was actually out looking for suicide victims (with no luck)._

_She did know, however, that his behavior had been increasingly odd the last three days. He often left the house whenever someone entered. He still hadn't eaten anything, either. He claimed that he ate while he was out or that he felt kind of sick every time he was offered food._

_Eventually, the fourth night came._

* * *

It was around 3:30 AM. Kagome had just woken up and decided she needed a glass of water. She headed down to the kitchen.

Filling up her glass from the faucet, she thought she heard a whimper from the living room. She listened closely, but didn't hear it again.

_Must've been my imagination,_ she thought, drinking. She finished and put her glass in the sink.

"N-No…"

_Okay, that time I definitely heard something._

She ran out to the living room, and what she saw broke her heart.

There was Kaneki. He appeared to be having a nightmare, and a bad one at that. He was lying on his back, tossing and turning, gripping the couch cushion on either side of him so hard that his knuckles were white. It was the look on his face that really struck her, though. It was one of absolute pain and anguish.

Not wanting to startle him, she approached slowly.

"Kaneki…?" she whispered.

No response.

"Kaneki, wake up!" she whispered more loudly.

Still nothing.

Her gut told her that she shouldn't wake him up, that she shouldn't touch him. She ignored it. Her friend was having a who-knows- _what_ kind of awful nightmare, and she wasn't going to stand by and watch him suffer.

"Kaneki!" she said, reaching out to shake his shoulder.

Almost as soon as her hand made contact, Kagome knew she had made a mistake. Everything after that realization seemed to happen in slow-motion.

Kaneki's eyes shot open as he grabbed her arm with his right hand in a vice-like grip.

She could tell that he was still half in his dream; his eyes were unfocused and- _Oh my god,_ Kagome thought. _His eye!_ Kaneki's left eye had changed: the pupil remained black, but the sclera had turned black, too. The iris was a vermilion red with thin veins of the same color extending from it all the way to the areas around the outer edge of his eye, like a spider's web drenched in blood.

And the look on his face had changed from one of anguish to one of _rage._ It was a rage that reminded Kagome of a predator that had just cornered its prey and was about to go in for the kill.

"Ka… Kaneki?" Kagome said tentatively.

He didn't seem to hear her.

" **RIZE!"**

Kaneki outright _snarled_ as he leapt up off the couch and twisted in midair, landing ready with a kick aimed at Kagome's side. Kagome closed her eyes, waiting for the hit that never came.

She felt him freeze and slowly lower his leg, suddenly letting go of her arm. After a few seconds, Kagome tentatively opened her eyes, bracing herself for the worst even though she didn't feel a sense of danger anymore. She looked up just as Kaneki was reaching out to her. She couldn't help it. She flinched, putting her arms in front of her face. He immediately pulled his hand back, looking absolutely horrified—like _he_ was the one who was nearly just attacked. Kagome slowly lowered her arms as she looked at his guilty expression and realized:

_He_ _'s horrified with_ himself.

"I-I… I'm…"

Kagome couldn't help but stare into that hellishly colored left eye. Kaneki noticed this, immediately covering it and turning away, his shoulders shaking.

"Kaneki, I-"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence.

Still covering his eye, he ran to the front of the house. Kagome followed him as fast as she could, though it wasn't fast enough. He had quickly slipped on his shoes, yanked open the front door, and made a beeline for the Well at inhuman speeds. Stepping out into the cool night air, Kagome watched as he threw open the Shrine door, jumped into the Well, and made his escape in a flash of pinkish-purple light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to remember to be more descriptive. I'm not usually because I assume that the reader has watched both animes before. However, that's probably not true in some cases. So, yeah. I'm trying, and I'll try harder.


	6. Chapter 5

**Kaneki**

_Kaneki opened his eyes._

_He was tied to a chair and surrounded by a black-and-white checkered floor._

_His eyes widened._

Oh, no…

_He heard_ that _voice_ _…_ Yamori's  _voice._

_"_ _Kaaaneeeekiiiii!"_

_The next thing he knew, he had been yanked up by his hair and a needle was stuck in his eye._

_"_ _What's one thousand minus seven?"_

_Yamori laughed._

_Kaneki screamed._

* * *

 

_Kaneki didn_ _'_ _t know how long he had been in this hell—minutes felt like hours. He watched his fingers and toes disappear again and again and again and_ again _with just_ so much pain. _His throat felt raw and sore from screaming so much. It seemed like the torture would never end, but it did._

_And in Yamori_ _'_ _s place, none other than Rize Kamishiro appeared—the_ last _person Kaneki wanted to see._

She's the one who caused all of this, _he thought._

_"_ _Oh, but Kaneki! You know you only have yourself to blame! After all, if you hadn't been so_ stupid, _you never would have gotten into this mess!_ _"_

_"_ _N-No…" he said half-heartedly._

_"_ _Kaneki, dear, I can tell that you_ know _that you_ _'_ _re to blame for all your friends leaving_ and _dying! Speaking of friends, it seems like someone wants you to wake up. Are you going to fail her like you did Touka?_ _"_

_"_ _Stop."_

_"_ _Hm. What about Hinami?" she taunted._

_"_ _I said to_ **_stop._ ** **_"_ **

_"_ _Oh, I know! Maybe you can fail her_ **_just like you failed_ ** **Hide!** **"**

_Rize reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, giving an innocent smile._

_Kaneki_ _'_ _s fists clenched in the chains._

_"_ _You know that everything is your fault, right_ **_Kaneki?_ ** **_"_ **

**_"_ ** **_RIZE!"_ **

_Kaneki snapped the chains, grabbing Rize_ _'_ _s arm and leaping out of the chair. Just as he was about to smash her ribcage with a well-placed kick, Kaneki's vision cleared, and there, fearing for her life, was Kagome._

_Oh_ _…_

_Oh my god_ _…_

Kaneki lowered his leg from the to-be kick—that was mere inches from Kagome's side—and let go of her arm. He reached out to her, intending to try to comfort her. The full force of what he'd done and what he could have done hit him when she flinched in response. He was horrified. _I could have_ killed _her!_

"I-I… I'm…"

He tried to apologize, but he couldn't form the words. _They probably wouldn_ _'_ _t do much good, anyway…_

He realized Kagome was staring at him. At his left eye, specifically. _My left eye_ _…_ He realized with a start that his kakugan was activated.

He immediately brought his hand up and covered his eye, looking away in shame. He was doing his best to hold back the tears that threatened to overflow.

"Kaneki, I-"

_NO! I can_ _'_ _t take anything else right now! I just can't!_

He bolted to the front of the house and slipped on his shoes as quickly as he could. Yanking open the front door, he made a beeline straight towards the Shrine that held the Well. He threw open the shrine door and jumped straight from the top of the steps into the Bone-Eater's Well.

He dreaded what would happen next as he disappeared through the Well.

* * *

 

Kaneki didn't waste any time: he jumped straight out of the Well and started running. He knew Kagome would come running after him, and soon. He had to get away… _far_ away.

He had only gone a few yards when he heard a shout.

"Hey! Where's Kagome?!"

_Inuyasha. Shit._

He kept his head down and ran as fast as he could.

"I swear, if something happened to her, you're gonna wish you'd never been born!"

_A little late for that,_ Kaneki thought as he looked back just in time to see Inuyasha disappearing down into the Well.

_He won_ _'_ _t follow me. Good._

Kaneki ran for a short few minutes that seemed like an eternity. He finally stopped when he came across a stream that fed into a small pond.

He leaned down and splashed some water on his face, the refreshing coolness soothing his nerves—if only a little bit. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves further. He looked around. There were reeds and bushes lining the pond. Trees lined the general area, the moonlight shining through the leaves and providing a small amount of light. He walked along the stream for about 20 yards until he arrived down at the pond. He looked at his reflection in the water. When he saw that his kakugan was still activated, he realized just how hungry he was. He hadn't started to have hallucinations of Rize, though… yet.

He started to giggle insanely.

_It_ _'_ _s all so ridiculous! I'm judging whether or not I have to eat a human by whether or not I'm_ hallucinating. _I must be farther gone than I realized!_

Kaneki felt a stinging in his lower back.

"HA! And to think that I used to _be_ human!"

On the last word, his kagune practically exploded from his back. It was only one of the blood-red appendages for now; it curled above him like a scorpion's stinger. He grinned madly.

_"_ _Oh, look at you, Kaneki! All grown up and accepting of your Ghoul side. I'm just_ so _proud._ _"_

Kaneki's grin immediately turned into a sneer as the Ghoul who started all this appeared in front of him.

"Rize!"

_"_ _Well, well. Looks like you're hallucinating, now! Why don't you go find one of those_ delectable _humans to eat?_ _"_

_H-Humans_ _…_ _?_ he thought.

He started to realize what was happening.

_"_ _What's the matter, Ken? Aren't you hungry?"_

"Sh-Shut up!" Kaneki yelled, clutching his head and slamming his kagune down onto the apparition.

There was silence…

…Until his stomach grumbled.

_D-Dammit_ _…_ _Kagome will probably find me sooner rather than later, and I don't know whether I'll be able to stop myself from… from… No! Don't think about that! Just… focus on something else. Like…_

A scream came from the direction he had come, along with a myriad of different human scents. They were all male, except for…

"Kagome!"

Kaneki sprinted back towards the source of the scream and the scents, ignoring the fact that his sanity was on the very edge of slipping.

* * *

 

**Kagome**

Kagome knew she had to move quickly or she'd never catch up to—or maybe even _find_ —Kaneki. He just moved too quickly. She grabbed his eyepatch and put it in the bag with his original clothing and put on her shoes.

_I don_ _'_ _t think he realizes that he just startled me; I know he would never_ intentionally _hurt me. He was having a nightmare and it was my fault for waking him up. I should have let him be, however much it pains me to see him like that._ Kagome sighed. _I messed up_ _…_

She raced out the door and to the Shrine. To her surprise, when she reached the Shrine doors they were flung open, revealing a very surprised-looking Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Are you o-"

"YES! I'm fine! Now move, Inuyasha! I have to go find Kaneki!" Kagome shouted, pushing past Inuyasha, who grabbed her wrist to stop her. She whirled around, the angriest he'd ever seen her.

"Inuyasha, I know what you're going to ask. He didn't hurt me, and I'm the one who messed up! Now stop wasting time and SIT!"

"AGH!"

Kagome ran down the stairs and jumped into the Well, leaving Inuyasha lying face-down and grumbling to himself on the concrete.

As soon as she reached the other side, she slung the bag over her shoulder and scaled the walls of the Well as fast as she could. Now, though, she was faced with a problem:

_Which direction did he go in_ _…_ _?_

She looked around, spotting what looked like firelight in the opposite direction of the village.

_Well, it_ _'_ _s the only thing I have to go on._

* * *

 

Kagome was about twenty feet away from the source of the campfire, when she realized that _Kaneki wouldn_ _'_ _t have given away his location like that._

It was too late.

Five rough-looking bandits ambushed her from the surrounding forest. She had two thoughts:

Firstly, _How could I have forgotten my bow?!_

Secondly, she screamed.

One of them clamped a hand over her mouth, laughing. She struggled, but another bandit grabbed her hands and tied them behind her back; she had no choice but to drop the bag with Kaneki's clothes and eyepatch.

"What'sa pretty thing like you doin' out here at this time of night?" he taunted. The others laughed.

"She must be from the village we were plannin' on attackin'!"

"Come on, let's get 'er back to camp!" another said.

"Right. Boss'll tell us whatta do with 'er!"

As they half dragged, half walked her back to the camp, Kagome eyed the bow on the back of one of the bandits.

_There_ _'_ _s no way I can get to that right now._ She glanced at a sword that one was carrying. _I could cut my binds on that, but I_ _'_ _d need a_ really _good distraction_ _…_

Almost as if on cue, an insane, distorted laugh was heard from the camp, followed by several screams of terror.

"W-What the hell was that?!"

Kagome fell ungracefully to the ground as the bandits dropped her to go help their friends. She remained on the ground for a moment, planning her next move when she caught a quick glimpse of what looked like a giant centipede.

_So_ that's  _what all the screaming is about._

She stood up slowly and walked forward, keeping as low and as hidden as she could. There was no way she could defend herself with her hands tied. As she got closer, she got a glimpse of a black hoodie and white hair.

_Kaneki! He_ _'_ _ll probably be fine against a demon, but what if he's not able to-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by shouts of and "We've gotta get out of here!" and "There's no way we can beat this thing!"

She ducked as several screaming bandits rushed past her, one of them dropping his sword about ten feet away from the edge of the clearing the bandits were camping in. It was stuck point-down in the ground.

_Perfect!_ she thought.

She walked towards it on her knees. As she was cutting her binds, she froze as the demon landed on the ground right in front of the campfire. The silhouette of the demon started to walk towards her. _It_ _'_ _s going after the bandits!_ She quickly cut the last piece of rope and practically dove under a bush to hide.

As the demon got closer, she saw that it was grinning maniacally, and there were splatters of blood all over its body. Whether it was its or the bandits' blood, Kagome couldn't tell, although she guessed that the blood was from the multiple slaughtered, _half-eaten_ bandits littering the ground around the creature.

She held her breath as she went seemingly unnoticed while it walked right past her hiding place. She risked a glance through the bush and spotted a bow and a quiver of arrows on the edge of the camp. She looked back to make sure that the coast was clear, and got a closer look at what she'd probably be dealing with.

Along with the two centipede tails, it had four blood-red tentacles protruding from its back. It had a mask made from a hard, a purpleish-black material covering its left eye, and curving downwards over the nose and mouth like some sort of grotesque bird beak. Its right eye was completely white and its left covered by the mask, but in the center of the creature's forehead was a single eye tinted black with a red iris and veins webbing out from the center.

_It looks exactly like Kaneki_ _'_ _s eye when it changed,_ Kagome noted.

She then realized that the _demon_ with the centipede tails and tentacles and just downright _insane_ grin was the one with the white hair and wearing Kaneki's outfit.

She stifled a gasp.

_That-That_ _'_ _s not a demon…_

_That_ _'_ _s Kaneki!_

Kagome let the bandits' screams and the sound of tearing flesh cover up the sound of her footsteps as she made a mad dash for the weapon—she needed _something_ to defend herself with, if need be.

She grabbed the bow and slung the quiver over her back. Turning around, she was met with the sight of Kaneki _eating_ a bandit. It looked like he had lost all thought and reason as he tore off chunks of flesh from the bodies and ate them like it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

Kagome had no idea what to think.

She could tell that something was up, that he had been keeping a secret from her—the secret of what he was. But that was the problem:

_What_ is _he?_

Kagome stared at the scene ahead of her with a sense of dread. She watched as Kaneki finished his _meal_ and turned around, looking straight at her. She could tell that he wasn't himself; it was almost like something was possessing him.

She didn't even have time to blink as he suddenly shot forward at a terrifying speed, and stopped a few feet away from her.

She started to reach for an arrow, but was wrenched up from the ground by one of the red tentacles. One arm was pinned to her side, but she had the other one free. Kagome pounded on the appendage with all her strength, but it didn't even budge. Kaneki's response was more of that insane laughter.

Kaneki drew her closer so that she was right in front of him.

"Kaneki? What are you-"

Her sentence was cut short as the tentacle tightened around her with crushing force.

"S-Snap out of it! You're not yourself!"

He leaned in towards her shoulder, opening his mouth.

_No way!_ Kagome thought. _He's gonna take a bite out of me!_

"I-It's me, Kagome! Don't you r-recognize me? Ka… Kaneki, don't!"

He froze.

"Ka…go…me…?"

Kaneki's voice sounded distorted—like it was underwater.

His expression then morphed from one of insanity, to one of confusion, to one of horror.

Kagome felt herself being gently lowered to the ground. She sank to her knees, still reeling from what had almost just occurred. She watched as the mask crumbled and his extra limbs faded into red mist.

His eyes returned to normal as he, too, fell to his knees. He reached out to Kagome, and this time she didn't flinch. She grabbed his hand in hers, threading her fingers between his, ignoring the blood that now stained her hand.

"I'm s-sorry… Kagome."

Kaneki was clearly exhausted; his eyes rolled back as he fainted, falling forwards. Kagome caught him in her arms. As she looked down on his unconscious form, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

_He's never going to forgive himself for this, is he?_

Kagome was so lost in thought about everything that had happened and everything that this could mean, she didn't hear Inuyasha approach. She jumped, startled, when he yelled.

"What the hell _happened,_ here?!" he said, gesturing to the blood and bandit remnants that littered the forest floor.

Kagome looked defiantly into his glaring golden eyes.

"Kaneki saved me," she said.

He looked taken aback.

"He what?"

"You heard me. Kaneki _saved_ my _life._ _"_

Inuyasha looked down at Kaneki, passed out and covered in blood. Kagome saw his expression soften—almost into _worry._

"Come on," she said. "Help me get him back to the village. I'll explain on the way."

Inuyasha nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know what you're probably thinking: "That happened way too quickly! Kaneki wouldn't go all incomplete kakuja on everyone like that."
> 
> And to that I respond with this: two and a half months. That's how long Kaneki went without food, as stated in the last chapter.
> 
> "But how did he not realize he was hungry?"
> 
> I see it like this: he did notice at first; he just didn't bother eating because he was going to die. He fell through the Well, which, through its magical plot-hole erasing powers, curbed his appetite a bit — just long enough for him to forget about it, and then it all came rushing back at once


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, all. Here's the deal:  
> I'm not stopping this fic, but I am fresh out of ideas. All the chapters posted so far were pre-written in only a few writing sessions in which I had lots of Inspiration™. I have no idea where I want the story to go from here (besides Kaneki answering Kagome's questions, probably in the next chapter).  
> So here are my questions for you all:
> 
> -Where would you like this story to go?  
> -When should I introduce Sango, Miroku, and the rest, or should I end it sooner and not introduce them?  
> -What else would you like to see in this fic?
> 
> Let me know via the comments, and let me know whether you'd like me to credit you or if you'd like to remain anonymous. Also, please don't expect updates to be as regular (or close to it) as they have been - I need time to write, now!
> 
> Thank you all so much for being such wonderful readers and giving this story so much love - I honestly didn't think it'd be this popular!

 

 _On the way back to the village, Kagome explained how Kaneki saved her from the bandits. She left out the parts about him eating the corpses, but she did tell Inuyasha that_ _"_ _He is most definitely only_ half _human._ _"_ _After a few_ I told you so _'_ _s_ _from Inuyasha, they got Kaneki cleaned up and into some fresh clothes. Kagome had given him her bed while she waited for him to wake up; she took the floor next to the bed._

_Now, it had been three days since the bandit incident and Kaneki had yet to wake up. Kagome was worried sick—not to mention her need for answers._

_She stayed by his side almost constantly, only getting up when necessary. Inuyasha had even dropped by a few times, which was strange. He had told Kagome that it was to_ _"_ _check up on her", but Kagome had a feeling that Inuyasha wanted to apologize to Kaneki._

* * *

 

**Kaneki**

As Kaneki slowly regained consciousness, he became vaguely aware of his surroundings—mostly the sounds and scents and feelings: silence, Kagome, and a blanket covering him.

_Where am I?_

He sat up on his elbows and waited for the room to stop spinning. When it had finally calmed down, he sat up the rest of the way and looked around, blinking a few times to try to bring things into focus.

The room smelled strongly of Kagome; he guessed it was hers. _Okay, so I_ _'_ _m in Kagome's room, in her bed. But why?_ he thought.

Kaneki then noticed Kagome on the floor beside the bed, wrapped in a blanket with her head on a pillow and facing away from the bed, sleeping soundly. He quickly debated whether or not to wake her, eventually deciding to do it. He pushed the covers off of himself and got out of her bed. He walked around her and knelt down on one knee about an arm's length away from her face, reached out, and gently shook her shoulder.

"Kagome," he said. She stirred slightly in her sleep.

"Hey, Kagome. Wake up."

Nothing.

Kaneki sighed. _You bought this upon yourself, Kagome._

He removed his hand from her shoulder, and flicked her forehead as hard as he dared—he didn't want to _actually_ hurt her.

_Flick!_

"Kagome!" he said, a bit louder than a normal speaking voice.

"Huh? Wh-AH!"

Kagome shot up to a sitting position.

"Kaneki! You scared me! _Again!_ Stop that!"

"You wouldn't wake up."

"You're one to talk! I was worried sick!"

Kaneki gave her a questioning look.

"Worried?"

"You were passed out for _three days!_ I had a right to be worried. Speaking of, how are you feeling?"

A look of confusion crossed Kaneki's face.

"I feel fine, but why was I…"

The memories came flooding back all at once:

 _Waking up from the nightmare. Almost kicking Kagome_ _'_ _s ribcage in. Her seeing his kakugan. Him running away. The hallucination of Rize. His sanity slipping. The incomplete kakuja taking over. Him almost_ eating _Kagome._

_Oh._

* * *

**Kagome**

Kagome woke up to a sharp pain in her forehead, what (at the time) sounded like a yell, and a previously unconscious Kaneki staring down at her.

"Huh? Wh-AH!"

She scrambled to a sitting position.

"Kaneki! You scared me! _Again!_ Stop that!" she said.

"You wouldn't wake up," Kaneki replied in his usual monotone voice, but Kagome thought she could detect a hint of smugness.

"You're one to talk!" she shouted, rubbing her forehead. "I was worried sick!"

Kaneki gave her a questioning look.

"Worried?"

"You were passed out for _three days!_ I had a right to be worried. Speaking of, how are you feeling?"

A look of confusion crossed his face.

"I feel fine, but, why was I…" The look of confusion quickly turned to one of realization. Kaneki grimaced and looked down in shame.

Kagome could tell that he was remembering what had happened. She didn't know whether or not that included the incident with the bandits—he hadn't seemed like himself at all. She decided to try a different approach to consoling him. She had a feeling that the usual, "It's okay," wasn't going to be enough. She took a deep breath; Kaneki looked like he was preparing himself for the worst.

"You saved me, you know," Kagome said.

"But I almost killed you— _twice,_ _"_ Kaneki replied, hands clenching into fists.

"But you _didn_ _'_ _t,_ Kaneki."

"But I almost did."

"Oh, for God's sake, Kaneki!" Kagome said, exasperated. "You're not the only one who's almost killed me! Inuyasha's demon side has taken over a few times, several of which put me in danger, then, too. I'm not new to this!"

Kaneki looked up in surprise, though his expression quickly changed back to its usual apathetic state.

"Kagome, you don't understand," he said, lowering his head so his bangs covered his eyes.

"Then help me understand! Stop keeping me in the dark, and who knows? Maybe I'll be able to help you."

Kaneki took a deep breath.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to know?"

"Yes, I am."

* * *

**Kaneki**

"Then help me understand! Stop keeping me in the dark, and who knows? Maybe I'll be able to help you."

Kaneki took a deep breath and thought of Hide. _I_ _'_ _ve only known Kagome for about a week, while I'd known Hide since grade school. Maybe, though. Maybe she'll understand. I mean, she's seen the worst of it, and she's still here. I shouldn't get my hopes up, though…_

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to know?"

"Yes, I am."

Kaneki closed his eyes for a moment and took another deep breath. He appeared calm on the outside, but he was almost in hysterics on the inside. He looked up at Kagome and began:

"Have you ever heard of something called a 'Ghoul?'" he asked.

Kagome shook her head.

"Then I'm going to assume Inuyasha hasn't, either. You can come in, by the way."

Kagome looked very confused—until a second later, when Inuyasha made his way through the window. He sat down in his usual position and sulked, staring intently at Kaneki for a moment.

"How did you _know?!_ _"_ he said.

"You're not the only one with an enhanced sense of smell," replied Kaneki.

"So I was right!" Inuyasha shouted, jumping up from his sitting position and pointing at Kaneki.

"I never said you weren't. Now, may I continue?"

Inuyasha sat down again, grumbling something about Kaneki being a "…little smartass…"

Kaneki ignored him, continuing with his explanation.

"Since Ghouls don't seem to exist in this world, I'll start with the basics. Ghouls are predators. They look exactly like humans and age at the same rate. However, they are much stronger than the average human and human weapons, such as knives, can't pierce their skin, though blunt force can break their bones and cause internal damage. They have enhanced senses and a predatory organ called a 'kagune', of which there are four types: ukaku, koukaku, rinkaku, and bikaku. Each one comes from a different part of the back. Their eyes change colors—called a 'kakugan'—when the kagune is activated, or Ghouls can choose to activate it at will. It can also activate when a Ghoul is extremely frightened or angry.

"The structure of their tongues is also different, causing human food to taste absolutely disgusting. They cannot digest it, either, due to a certain enzyme their bodies produce. If they consume it and don't throw it back up, they become very sick. Ghouls can go for one to two months without eating, but when they're starving, they lose all thought and reason and go for the nearest food source. They are hunted by an organization in my world called the Commission of Counter Ghoul, or 'CCG' for short, because of the only thing they _can_ eat—keep in mind that they don't have a choice. They can only eat humans."

Inuyasha spoke first.

"Yeah, that's interesting and all, but what does it have to do with anything?"

"How horrible…" Kagome mumbled, mulling over what she had just been told. When Kaneki flinched and looked back down when she said that, though, she put two and two together. She remembered Kaneki kicking the ogre demons hand off— _Much stronger than the average human._ She remembered Kaneki refusing every bit of food he was offered and making excuses as to why he wasn't eating— _Human food tastes absolutely disgusting; they can_ _'_ _t digest it._ She remembered Kaneki's eye changing colors when he woke up from the nightmare— _Their eyes can change when extremely angry or frightened._ She remembered Kaneki eating the bandits— _They can only eat humans._

"Oh," Kagome said, the realization hitting her. " _Oh._ Kaneki, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

He interrupted her.

"No, it's fine, Kagome. I understand: it _is_ horrible. But it's even worse when you used to _be_ human…" he said bitterly.

After a few seconds, Kagome's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands, realizing what Kaneki was getting at: He had to eat his own kind to survive. Inuyasha just looked confused.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?!" he said, more than a bit irritated.

"What we're talking about, Inuyasha," Kaneki said, slowly raising his head. "Is the fact that I'm a half-Ghoul." He looked up at Inuyasha, kakugan fully activated.

Inuyasha appeared startled, but that quickly turned to rage. He stood up again, his hand on Tessaiga's handle.

"You little— No wonder you wouldn't tell us! You're just a man-eating monster, a _murderer!_ How many people have you killed?! Or have you lost count?!" he growled.

Kaneki was getting angry; his usual bored tone of voice was laced with venom. He stood up slowly.

"You know, Inuyasha, after all that's happened to me, my tolerance for bullshit has gone down considerably. I suggest you shut your mouth before something happens to it." He cracked a knuckle to emphasize his point.

"You're not answering the question. You're not _denying_ it!"

Kagome spoke, now.

"Inuyasha, could you come outside with me for a moment?" she asked in a deathly-calm tone.

He looked surprised.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"You'll see. Kaneki, your original clothes, mask, and eyepatch are in that plastic bag on my nightstand. We'll be going back to the Feudal Era soon, so you can change into those, if you want. Come on, Inuyasha."

With a final glare at Kaneki, Inuyasha left the room, following Kagome. Once they were down the stairs, Kaneki deactivated his kakugan, grabbed the plastic bag, and headed to the bathroom to change. He smirked as heard Kagome shout "Inuyasha, **_SIT!_** ** _"_** and then a _thud_ from outside.

 _Well, I_ _'_ _d say that that went_ much _better than expected,_ he thought.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is taking place around Episode 49 of the InuYasha anime: “Kohaku’s Lost Memory”, though I will be trying to change events and such up a bit.
> 
> I also apologize for the shorter chapter, this time around. The next one will be longer.

 

**Kagome**

 

Kagome sat with her back against a tree by the Well, lost in thought while she waited for Kaneki.

"Hey, Kagome!" a voice yelled.

Kagome snapped out of her daydreaming and glanced up in the direction of the voice. Sango was jogging up the path to the Well from the village, waving to her. Kagome stood up to greet her.

"Sango! You're finally finished with that demon hunting job! What took you so long?" She glanced behind the other girl. "And where are Miroku and Shippo?"

"We ran into more trouble along the way than we thought we would heading to and from the job," Sango replied. "Miroku and Shippo are back in Kaede's hut in the village." Sango looked around. "Where's Inuyasha? He didn't start another fight, did he?"

"Well, yes and no," Kagome replied. "He did start something, but not with me. I'm actually waiting for the person who he did start something with."

"Oh? and who would that be?"

"His name's Kaneki, and he-"

Kagome was interrupted by the Well activating. Out jumped Kaneki, wearing his combat suit and eyepatch.

"Kaneki! There you are!" said Kagome. She beckoned for him to come meet Sango. "Kaneki, this is Sango. Sango, Kaneki."

He gave a slight bow, as did she.

"It's nice to meet you, Sango," he said politely.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Kaneki," she replied.

* * *

 

**Kaneki**

The trio started to walk back to the village, making casual conversation on the way.

"So, Kaneki, where are you from?" Sango asked.

"Tokyo," Kaneki replied.

"Oh, so you know Kagome from her time?"

"Not quite. I'm actually from a different version of Tokyo. One that exists in another universe."

Sango looked at him blankly.

"It's a long story."

"And one that we _still_ haven't heard the whole of," Kagome put in. She turned to Sango. "He's already told us that he has no idea how he got here," She turned back to Kaneki. "But we barely know anything about your life _before_ you arrived!"

Kaneki looked away, doing his best to hide his pained expression.

"I-" he started, but Sango interrupted him.

"Oh, leave it, Kagome—I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready. Sometimes the past can be painful, and sometimes it's something best forgotten."

Sighing in relief, Kaneki agreed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," he said, giving a small, grateful smile to Sango. He had noted how she had said "you" instead of "us", implying that Sango was okay with not hearing about it—that she understood.

Kaneki's thoughts drifted to people he used to know as Sango and Kagome talked.

". . .Kaneki! Earth to Kaneki!"

He snapped out of his memories.

"Huh?"

"I _said,_ you're probably still full, since you ate at my house. Sango said that Kaede was making stew, but you don't have to eat any," Kagome said, giving him a pointed look.

Kaneki sent a grateful smile to Kagome, this time.

"You're right," he said. "I'm not hungry right now."

"You'll at least sit with us and talk, won't you?" Sango asked.

"Of course."

* * *

 

_They arrived at Lady Kaede's hut._

_Kagome entered first, then Sango, then Kaneki. Kirara growled at Kaneki briefly, but after an admonishment from Sango ("He's a friend, Kirara! Be nice."), she seemed to warm up to him. They all introduced themselves, and some asked Kaneki a few questions. Kaneki answered them all, as no one asked anything too intrusive. He felt that he could trust them, too—he decided that a friend of Kagome's is a friend of his (though he would open up when he was ready)._

_They laughed and talked as they ate, Kirara curling up on Kaneki's lap as if in apology for earlier, and Kagome telling the story of how Kaneki saved her (though she omitted some parts and changed others to respect Kaneki—he would tell them about his Ghoul nature when he was ready). She painted Kaneki as the hero, which Kaneki humbly tried to brush off. (In truth, he barely remembered anything about the fight; incomplete kakujas tended to have that side effect.)_

_That night, they all slept peacefully—even Kaneki's sleep was free from nightmares._

_The next morning, Kagome talked to Inuyasha (who had finally quit sulking and begrudgingly mumbled an apology to Kaneki) about not giving away anything that Kaneki would want to keep secret, and to Sango and the rest—separately, of course—about not asking him why he doesn't eat._

_That morning, after breakfast and a quick supply run to her house by Kagome, they all set out to collect some more shards of the Sacred Jewel._

* * *

 

_The group had been traveling on foot for several days, now. They had heard rumors of a demon with a Sacred Jewel shard that lived dangerously close to a small village—it was only a matter of time before the village was attacked._

_Unbeknownst to Kagome and the rest, however, Kohaku—Sango's younger brother, who was killed in the trap Naraku set along with all of the other demon slayers—was residing in the very village they were on their way to, kept alive by another shard of the Sacred Jewel, though he retained none of his memories, courtesy of Naraku._

_Meanwhile, during their journey, the group learned little else about Kaneki. He remained just as mysterious and never ate, but Sango, Shippo, Miroku, and Kirara trusted him (even though Shippo thought he could be a bit scary sometimes and Sango could tell there was something_ off _about him)—he had even gained Inuyasha's trust (and had gained Kagome's long ago)._

_Eventually, after three days of travel with no trouble, they reached the village._

* * *

 

**[All]**

 

After asking around the village, the group had determined that the demon was living in a cave to the east. They had just set out when they caught sight of a young boy running into the forest a little ways north of them, being chased by Naraku's poisonous insects.

"Come on, we have to help him!" Kagome yelled. Adjusting her bow and quiver of arrows on her shoulder, she started to run in the direction the boy had gone.

"We don't have time to help every single person we come across!" Inuyasha yelled back, but ran after Kagome nonetheless—with the rest of the group in tow.

Inuyasha ran in front of Kagome and tossed her onto his back, while Kirara transformed to carry Miroku and Sango. Shippo clung to Kaneki's shoulder as he kept up with them without a problem.

They reached the boy just in time—he was surrounded by the insects on all sides.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled, tossing her weapon in an arc that eliminated every single insect. The boy turned around, and Sango's eyes widened.

"Ko… Kohaku?" she said disbelievingly as she caught Hiraikotsu.

"How do you know my name?" he replied, confused.

"Kohaku! It's me, Sango. Your older sister?" Sango said, jogging up to Kohaku and kneeling in front of him. She put her hands on his shoulders.

_Did- Did I_ have _an older sister?_ Kohaku wondered as Sango pulled him into a hug. _I don't remember anything about my past. But maybe if I did have an older sister, and this lady really is her, maybe she can tell me about it._

"Hey, Lady-" he started to say.

"Sango," she said, releasing him from the hug.

"Sorry. Sango, you said that you're my older sister?"

"That's right. You're my younger brother."

"Do you. . .do you think that you could tell me about my past? I can't remember anything."

"Of course, Kohaku. I'd be happy to."

"Thank you, Sango."

Inuyasha watched the exchange skeptically, as did Miroku. They both suspected this to be a trap of some sort that had been set by Naraku. Kagome suspected the same, though to a lesser extent. She wanted to believe that this was real—for Sango's sake. Meanwhile, Kaneki didn't know _what_ to think. It wasn't every day that a previously-dead child is found being chased by an evil demon's henchman insects. _Well, stranger things have happened,_ he thought. _I mean, I_ did _end up here._

He and the rest watched as Sango invited Kohaku along with them to slay the demon; she would tell him about himself on the way.

_I've got a bad feeling about this,_ Kaneki thought to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I’m sorry for the shorter chapter; this just seemed like a good place to end it. Also, things will pick up and become more interesting in the next chapter—I promise!
> 
> Also, please note that the prologue has been edited slightly. No other chapters have been changed.


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, this chapter is really late! (I forgot - it completely slipped my mind I'm so sorry.)
> 
> I have some news, which may come as a disappointment to you all, or at least some of you: this fic is ending at Chapter 10. But fear not! it won’t be the end end. It’ll just be a spot where readers will have at least some closure in case I back myself into a corner with the plot or something.
> 
> Be warned, though: there will be no steady update schedule for the chapters after Chapter 10. Those will come as they happen.
> 
> And finally, as promised, here’s a longer chapter (and a more interesting one)! Also, please note that the events in this chapter are based off of the events in Episode 49 of InuYasha: “Kohaku’s Lost Memories”.

 

**Kagome**

They had set out again about half an hour ago, and Kagome was deep in thought.

_The more I think about it, the more this seems like a trap_ _…_ _Everything just seems really suspicious._

Kagome decided to pull Sango aside to talk.

"Hey, Sango?" she said tentatively.

"Yeah? What's up?" Sango replied, momentarily stopping her conversation with Kohaku.

"Could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure. What do you need?" Sango asked, slowing her pace so she was in the back of the group with Kagome, who sighed before continuing.

"I. . .I think this may be one of Naraku's traps," Kagome said, bracing herself for the worst.

"That possibility _did_ cross my mind, but I really do think that Kohaku is free from Naraku's control."

"I don't think that that's the case, Sango. I mean, you told us that he had died, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

Kagome took a breath to reply, but Inuyasha, who was in front of them, spoke up first.

" _So,_ it's highly unlikely that a villager just took a piece of the Jewel they had lying around and put it into a dead kid's back."

Sango was silent for a moment.

"You have a point, but I don't think that-"

She was interrupted by Kaneki crashing into her just as they were all heading into a small clearing. They both landed on the ground. Sango was slightly stunned, though Kaneki was on his feet almost immediately.

"Are you alright?" he asked, glancing down at her.

* * *

 

**Kaneki**

Kaneki vaguely heard Sango and Kagome talking about something and briefly wondered why Sango had ceased talking to Kohaku, but he was more focused on being on a lookout for this demon.

He put on his mask—it was a familiar thing in this still-strange world. Miroku watched him curiously.

"Kaneki, what are you-"

Before Miroku could finish his question, Kaneki suddenly whirled around towards the back of the group and leapt at Sango, knocking her out of the way of a giant claw. As it lifted, the group saw that it had left a small crater right where Sango had been walking only a moment before.

Kaneki was up on his feet as soon as he landed, ready to fight.

"Are you alright?" he asked, glancing down at Sango, who seemed slightly startled by his mask.

"Y-Yeah, I am. Thank you," she replied, quickly standing up again.

* * *

**[All]**

They all watched as the demon slowly emerged from the forest on the right side of the clearing. It had six insect-like legs with spikes on the front two and red skin; it wore a mask of something resembling bone.

"Give me the shard of the Sacred Jewel, Kohaku!" it said, baring grotesque teeth and glaring at him with hostile red eyes.

"Shard of the Sacred. . .Jewel?" he said, puzzled—though he readied his weapon anyway. Suddenly, he remembered: someone wearing the skin of a baboon had said something about a shard of a jewel—and how it was keeping him alive.

The demon saw its opportunity appear while Kohaku was distracted and took it. Raising its leg, it aimed straight for Kohaku.

Sango, however, was on it. She threw Hiraikotsu, cutting the leg off just below the joint, which caused the demon to roar in pain. Behind the demon, however, an army of hundreds of smaller, less powerful demons appeared from an ominous dark cloud, along with Naraku's poisonous insects—and none other than Kagura of the Wind riding down on a feather in the middle of the horde of demons.

"Kohaku," she announced, landing on her feet on the ground. "I am under orders from Naraku to take you back to him—alive."

"You'll never get him, Kagura!" yelled Inuyasha.

"Oh, but I beg to differ," she replied, fanning her face with her folding fan.

She turned to the bone-mask demon.

"Attack!" she said, gesturing to the group. Everyone scattered but Inuyasha, who stood his ground as the demon ran closer.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" he yelled, using his empowered claws to slice the demon in half as it passed him. The two halves fell with a thud, then disintegrated into the wind.

"Oh, what a shame," Kagura said without a hint of care in her voice.

She then expanded her fan and brought it down in a forceful motion.

"Dance of _Blades!_ "

Inuyasha narrowly dodged the blades of wind, making his way back to the rest of the group as he did.

While Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku prepared for battle, Kaneki tried to gauge the situation and how powerful these demons were, Shippo yelled at Miroku from a hollow log to _not_ use his Wind Tunnel because there were poisonous insects, Kagome glanced behind her to see Kohaku running back into the forest.

"Kohaku, wait!" she yelled, running after him. Kagome turned back briefly to reassure Sango.

"I'll go after him, Sango! Don't worry—just focus on your battle!"

She disappeared after Kohaku, and Kaneki turned to Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha.

"Can you guys handle this?" he asked.

"Tch. Without a problem!" Inuyasha replied confidently.

"Alright, then. I'm going after Kagome—I have a bad feeling about your younger brother, Sango. C'mon, Shippo. Let's get away from this battle; it's going to get intense."

"Yeah! Sure thing!" Shippo said, leaping up onto Kaneki's shoulder. He took off into the forest at inhuman speeds.

"Kaneki, wait!" Sango yelled, poised to run after him.

"Sango, please. We need your help, here. Plus, you'll never catch up to him at that rate." Miroku said.

"But Kohaku-"

"Sango. I know you care about your younger brother, but they will be _fine._ Trust me."

It took Sango a few moments of debating, but she eventually decided that her friends needed her help. Kaneki was more than capable of taking care of Kagome, if her story about him and the bandits was true.

She readied her weapon.

"Alright. Let's do this."

* * *

 

**Kaneki**

Kagome disappeared after Kohaku. Kaneki turned to Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha.

"Can you guys handle this?" he asked.

"Tch. Without a problem!" Inuyasha replied, his eyes filled with determination.

"Alright, then. I'm going after Kagome—I have a bad feeling about your younger brother, Sango. C'mon, Shippo. Let's get away from this battle; it's going to get intense."

"Yeah! Sure thing!" Shippo said, leaping up onto Kaneki's shoulder. Kaneki took off into the forest at inhuman speeds. He thought he heard someone calling after him, but decided that finding Kagome was his top priority.

"Wow, you sure are fast, Kaneki!" said Shippo. "What exactly _are_ you, anyway? You don't smell like a demon, but you're still really strong."

"Maybe I'll tell you later, Shippo," Kaneki replied. "Right now, let's focus on finding Kagome."

"Okay!"

Shippo glanced behind them.

"Uh, Kaneki? We're being followed!"

Looking back, Kaneki saw about fifty of the smaller demons in pursuit, along with a good number of Naraku's poisonous insects.

"Shippo, on three, I'm going to jump up onto that tree up ahead. I need you to get up into the branches and stay hidden."

"Got it!"

"One. . .Two. . . _Three!_ "

Kaneki jumped about fifteen feet up the trunk of the tree. Shippo did as he was asked and jumped off of Kaneki's shoulder, climbing into the upper branches.

Meanwhile, Kaneki twisted in mid-air so that he was facing the demons. He use his legs to jump and propel himself off of the tree and straight into the horde. As he predicted, they all focused on him, the closest "prey". _Well, won't they be surprised when the roles are reversed!_

He unleashed four of his kagune, his eye turning those hellish black and red colors. He stabbed four of the demons clean through with one hit, their bodies dissolving into thin air. These demons had no intelligence—just animal instinct. They couldn't plan, they couldn't think, they could only attack. And Kaneki used that to his advantage.

He landed back on the ground, swatting a few insects on the way, and waited until several more were close enough, stabbing those ones through, too. He stopped, however, when he heard Shippo's yell from the tree. He turned around, eye widening when he saw that some of the poisonous insects had focused on Shippo, not him.

"Hold on, Shippo!"

Kaneki used his kagune to scale the tree in seconds, killing the insects and saving Shippo, who closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly opened them when he heard Kaneki grunt almost stumble off the branch.

Not all of the demons had been slain—Kaneki had missed one, and it had launched itself at him, biting down on his shoulder and almost causing him to fall.

"Damn pest," he said, more annoyed than anything. He had endured much worse, after all.

He tore the demon off of his shoulder with one of his extra limbs and hurled it down to the ground, where it disintegrated into dust. Unfortunately, a chunk of his shoulder had come off with the demon.

"Kaneki, you're hurt!" Shippo exclaimed as Kaneki deactivated his kagune and kakugan.

"I'll be fine, Shippo."

"B-But… Your shoulder!"

"Come on, we have to go find Kagome."

Shippo remained silent as Kaneki picked him up and put him on his uninjured shoulder. He held on as Kaneki jumped down, landing on his feet. Shippo did his best to not look at the wound while Kaneki took a moment to try to pick up Kagome's scent.

_That way!_

He took off, running deeper into the forest, where he came across Kagome's bow and arrows and a small hole in the ground that looked suspiciously like the tip of a sickle had made it. _Dammit! She's defenseless against Kohaku—I've got to hurry._

Picking up the bow and arrows, he started running, following Kagome's scent again. It grew stronger and stronger until he finally found where the trail ended: a small cave under a tree root.

"Shippo, jump off. I'm going to save Kagome."

Shippo nodded.

"Okay—good luck!" he said, leaping off of Kaneki's shoulder once more.

With Shippo out of the way, Kaneki ran at full speed and practically dove feet-first into the cave, bringing out his kagune as he did—and he was just in the nick of time.

He pushed Kagome out of the way with one of his extra limbs as gently as he could at the speed he was going (which wasn't very gently at all), and blocked Kohaku's would-be hit with his arm. As he knew it would, the weapon just bounced off of his skin.

**_CLANG!_ **

Kohaku stumbled back, and Kaneki used this opportunity to hurl him out of the cave with one of his kagune. He watched where the boy had fallen against the tree, making sure he wasn't going to get up immediately.

Seeing that he was temporarily stunned, Kaneki took this chance to see if Kagome was alright.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She stared at him for a moment, seemingly transfixed by something.

"Kagome?"

"Wh- Oh, yeah. I'm fine!" she said, making a dismissive gesture and. . . _Is she blushing?_ Kaneki wondered. The dark of the cave obscured most of her face, but a little light came in through the entrance. He wouldn't dwell on it right now, though.

"Good."

He didn't give Kagome a chance to respond, heading right back into the battle, dodging the sickle that was already headed his way.

* * *

 

**Kagome**

Kagome could barely comprehend what had happened—it had all gone so fast.

One moment, she was chasing Kohaku, and then he was gone. The next thing she knew, she was lying on her back on the ground and Kohaku was standing above her with his sickle raised and a dead look in his eyes.

"K-Kohaku…?" she said carefully. "What are you doing…?"

There was no response from the boy who, Kagome guessed, was being controlled by Naraku through the Sacred Jewel shard that was embedded in his back. _I knew it!_ she thought. _This really_ was _a trap!_

She rolled out of the way just as the sickle came down and embedded itself in the ground where her head had been. Scrambling to her feet, she ran, but couldn't seem to shake him. She looked behind her again and, of course, there he was—ready to kill her. While she had her head turned, she had kept running and didn't see the tree root ahead of her. She tripped over the root and fell down a hole in the ground, just under another large tree root. It was more like a cave than anything, but she didn't have time to think about that. _Did Kohaku see me fall?_

Kagome ran to the very back of the dirt cave, held her breath, and hoped the shadows would hide her. It was no use. Kohaku's legs appeared in front of the entrance. He peered down into the hole, and Kagome knew she'd need a miracle to get out of this one—especially since her bow and quiver of arrows had slid off of her shoulder when she rolled out of the way of the hit earlier.

Kohaku jumped down into the hole under the tree root and walked slowly towards Kagome, who brought her hands up to protect her face as he raised his sickle. She squeezed her eyes shut just as she saw a black, white, and red blur run into the cave so quickly that she couldn't make out what it was.

Kagome felt herself be suddenly shoved out of the way just as she heard the loud noise of metal hitting something hard that it couldn't get through.

**_CLANG!_ **

She opened her eyes from her spot on the ground, and saw Kohaku stumbling back and Kaneki crouching in front of him with his arm raised, as if he had just deflected Kohaku's blade.

_Did_ _…_ _Did Kaneki just stop that blade?_ she wondered. _Wait, that's right! Human weapons can't pierce a Ghoul's skin—he really did deflect that hit! That's so cool!_

Before Kohaku had a chance to react, Kaneki wrapped one of his kagune around the boy and threw him out of the cave, where his back slammed into a tree. He turned to Kagome.

"Are you alright?"

It took Kagome a moment to respond—she was fascinated by Kaneki's eye and mask and the way his kagune shimmered and pulsed to his heartbeat, now that she had a chance to see it when her life _wasn't_ in danger.

Well, when her life wasn't in danger at the _moment._

"Kagome?"

"Wh- Oh, yeah. I'm fine!" she said, swiping her hand in a dismissive gesture and hoping that her blush wouldn't show in the dark of the cave.

"Good."

Before Kagome could say anything else, Kaneki had shot out of the small cave and towards Kohaku, who was back on his feet and had already thrown his sickle at Kaneki again.

Kagome climbed out of the cave with her bow and arrows that Kaneki had dropped next to her. She looked up at the fight between him and Kohaku, amazed at Kaneki's speed and agility, which rivaled even Inuyasha's. He dodged each attack with ease while Kohaku had more and more trouble putting distance between him and Kaneki as he started to run out of stamina.

Kaneki landed a hit on Kohaku's chest, though it was clear that he didn't put his full strength into it, not wanting to hurt Sango's little brother. Kohaku went flying backwards nonetheless, knocked unconscious when he hit his head on the ground and then rolling a few times, eventually coming to a stop. As Kaneki approached the boy, he heard Kagura's voice.

"Oh, well _that_ won't do," she said as her Blades of Wind attack forced him to jump backwards to dodge.

Kagura walked out of the shadows and towards Kohaku.

"My, my. You are _really_ turning out to be quite the pest. We'll have to do something about that, but not right now. Right now, Kohaku is mine!" she said, pulling a feather out of her hair as a cloud of smoke appeared and obscured her. Just as Kagura flew up from the smoke, sitting on the enlarged feather with an unconscious Kohaku beside her, Sango and the rest entered the clearing.

"Oh, no you _don't!_ Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled, hurling the weapon at Kagura with all her might, but Kagura easily maneuvered the feather to dodge.

They could hear Kagura's laugh as they watched she and Kohaku fade into the distance.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I’m terrible with descriptions, so I’m going to put a note at the beginning of the prologue:
> 
> “Knowledge of both canons is recommended, but not required.”
> 
> Not because I’m lazy and don’t want to try, but because I don’t want readers to be disappointed when I inevitably forget to be descriptive.


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuing to (kind of) follow the InuYasha anime, this takes place around Episodes 50, 51, and 52: "That Unforgettable Face!", "Inuyasha's Soul, Devoured", and "The Demon's True Nature". Some things have been changed up quite heavily, while others have been omitted altogether.

  **[All]**

They heard Kagura's laughter as she and Kohaku disappeared into the distance.

"Kohaku!" Sango cried, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"It was a trap, Sango," Kagome said gently. Sango quickly turned to face her.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Kohaku tried to kill me. He was being controlled by Naraku through the Jewel shard in his back. I'm sorry, Sango."

Sango looked down, her bangs covering her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me."

She looked back up with worry.

"You're not hurt, are you, Kagome?"

"No, I'm not, thanks to Kaneki."

"Yeah, you should have seen him!" Shippo said, coming out of his hiding place behind a tree and running towards the group. He jumped up onto Kaneki's shoulder, who had taken his mask of and replaced it with his eyepatch. "It was amazing! He jumped into that cave over there where Kohaku had Kagome cornered and blocked the sickle with his  _arm!_ It just bounced right off of his skin!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Okay, Shippo. That's enough," Kaneki said sheepishly, trying to brush off the unwanted attention.

"But it did! And then those red things coming from your back and your eye and how fast you were and- Mmph!"

Kaneki put his hand over Shippo's mouth.

"Shippo. That is  _enough_ ," he said more forcefully. Shippo finally seemed to get the hint and nodded. Kaneki took his hand away from the fox demon's mouth, who whispered a quiet, "Sorry!" as Kagome did her best to draw the group's attention away from the half-Ghoul.

"So anyway! How about we head back to that village and let them know that the demon has been taken care of?" she said with an awkward cheerfulness.

"I think we have some injuries to take care of, first," Miroku said.

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed. "Sango took a nasty hit to her arm."

"I think I saw an old hut a little ways back towards the village. Maybe we should go there—it looks like it's going to rain," Kagome said, squinting up at the darkening sky.

Inuyasha nodded.

"Good idea. Let's go."

* * *

**Kaneki & Kagome**

As the group made their way towards the old, abandoned hut, Kaneki and Kagome lagged a little ways back from the rest of the group, deep in conversation.

"When are you going to tell them, Kaneki? I know it's up to you, but don't you think that sooner is better than later—better than them finding out on their own?" Kagome asked quietly.

"You have a point, but… What if they reject me, think I'm a monster?" Kaneki said doubtfully.

"I highly doubt that that's going to happen. You've already gained  _Inuyasha's_ trust and acceptance, and the rest are much more easy going. Even Shippo—who can scare rather easily—has warmed up to you. And from what he said, he's already seen some of your abilities."

"But-"

"Plus, they all have a  _past,_ Kaneki. Bad things have happened to them, too—each one has their own variation of a tragic past. They're  _not_ going to reject you. I promise."

"I think you're underestimating this, Kagome. Back in my version of Tokyo, I ate other Ghouls because I refused to eat humans. I don't have that choice, here! I  _have_ to eat humans!"

"And  _I_ think you're  _over_ estimating this, Kaneki! You don't  _want_ to eat people, do you?"

"Well, no, but that doesn't change the fact that-"

"Then I'm pretty sure that they'll recognize that you don't want to, but don't have a choice. It's going to be  _fine._ "

Kaneki sighed.

"I hope you're right…"

* * *

**[All]**

They eventually arrived at the old hut. Kaneki sat off to the side while Miroku comforted Sango and Kagome and Inuyasha just sat in a comfortable silence, seeing as they didn't have any wounds.

"I can't believe I let myself fall for one of Naraku's traps," Sango said tiredly as Miroku bandaged the wound on her arm.

"Don't feel too badly, Sango," he replied. "Playing with people's feelings seems to be one of Naraku's specialties."

She sighed tiredly.

"I guess."

Shippo sat thinking, suddenly remembering the wound on Kaneki's shoulder.

"Hey, Kaneki," he said. "Didn't you get bitten on the shoulder by a demon? It looked pretty deep."

"Huh? Oh, that. Yes, but-" Kaneki started to reply, but Kagome interrupted him.

"What? Let me see, Kaneki!" She stood up and walked over to him.

Kaneki had actually forgotten about the bite, thanks to his quick regeneration abilities.

"It's fine, Kagome," he said as she knelt down beside him with some bandages and disinfectant.

"It's not fine!" she replied. "Your shoulder is covered in blood. How did I not notice this?"

Kaneki chose to remain silent, deciding that he would let Kagome find out on her own. As she began to gently wipe the blood off, she quickly realized that there was no wound, but there was a tear in his combat suit indicating that he  _had,_  in fact, gotten hurt. Kagome was confused, but then seemed to realize something.

"Oh! This is a Ghoul thing, isn't it?" she whispered.

Kaneki nodded.

Inuyasha suddenly tensed, sniffing the air.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"Human blood. And lots of it," he replied.

"We're not that far from the village," Kaneki said.

"How much do you want to bet that the demon we fought was sent by Naraku, and not the one that we were sent to take care of?" Inuyasha growled.

"Come to think of it, the one you killed  _did_ seem to know Kohaku—or, at least  _of_ him," said Kagome.

"And it didn't have a shard of the Sacred Jewel, either!" Shippo exclaimed.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled, punching through the floorboards. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going. This demon won't have that Jewel shard for long!"

And with that, he ran out of the hut and towards the village with Kaneki on his heels.

"Sango, if I'm going to keep up with them, I need to take Kirara!" Miroku said quickly.

"Yes—just go!" Sango replied, Kirara transforming into her larger form as she and Miroku ran out of the hut, Miroku jumping onto her back as soon as they were clear of the door.

* * *

**Kaneki**

Inuyasha and Kaneki were almost halfway to the village when Miroku caught up with them. They could see smoke rising in the distance as they made their way down the path.

"We've got to hurry!" Miroku said.

"Yeah," agreed Inuyasha. "We'll be lucky if anyone's still alive by the time we get there."

Finally arriving, they saw that the village was in ruins. Fires burned everywhere while bandits swarmed like flies over a carcass. Dead men littered the ground while the women were grouped into one area that was being guarded by several more of the bandits.

Inuyasha unsheathed Tessaiga, hitting the ground to scare them away from the women.

"Wha-AH!" one exclaimed, catching his balance as he jumped out of the way.

"Why, you-!" another shouted, charging at Inuyasha, who readied his sword to fight.

"Come and get me!" he yelled. Kaneki took on a fighting stance behind him while Miroku readied his staff.

"Halt!" A voice said.

The attacking bandits stopped in their tracks as the rest of the gang parted to reveal a man on a horse. He had an air of obnoxious confidence about him, wavy hair pulled back into a ponytail, and wore a pink overcoat over his armor, also carrying a giant axe. He looked down at Inuyasha from the horse, barely glancing at the others.

"Little man, your sword interests me. Hand it over," he said.

_There's something off about this guy,_  Kaneki thought as Inuyasha argued with the bandits' leader.

"Be careful, Kaneki," Miroku whispered. "This man is actually a demon."

"I thought something seemed off," Kaneki replied.

They turned their attention back to Inuyasha and the demon. Apparently Inuyasha had said the same thing, because the bandits were busy denying it.

"Our boss is a demon? That's crazy!"

" _They're_ crazy for thinking that!"

"You leave me no choice," the leader said. "I will have to take that sword from you by  _force._ "

"Heh, sounds like fun!" Inuyasha replied tauntingly.

He jumped up, bringing Tessaiga down towards the demon leader of the bandits, who blocked it with his axe. The weapons clashed, and, after a few seconds, the demon's weapon cracked in two.

"I like that sword more and more! Give it to me!"

Inuyasha jumped at the demon leader, swinging Tessaiga again. The leader dodged and jumped back towards the group of women.

"Looks like I'll need a shield," he said. He picked one of them up and tossed her at Inuyasha just as he was about to strike again.

"Huh?"

With the half-demon distracted, the demon rushed forward and slashed at Inuyasha's abdomen.

"Agh!" he grunted, but—very luckily—the demon's sword left only a small gash. He jumped back, clutching his stomach. "Why, you little-!"

"You're no match for the demon Gatenmaru!" the demon shouted, opening its mouth and shooting webs that sizzled with poison at Inuyasha.

"No!" Miroku yelled, running towards the half-demon. He put his staff in front of Inuyasha, grabbing the other end and creating a barrier around the two of them as Inuyasha dropped his sword just as the poison webs completely encased them.

_Shit,_  Kaneki thought as he watched.  _This is bad._

"Y-You really are a demon?" a bandit said, trying to conceal the fear in his voice.

"Why, of course I am. What, are you  _scared?_ " Gatenmaru said threateningly, cutting the web off with his teeth.

"N-No!" the bandit replied. "A demon as a leader will make us invincible!"

"Hm," Gatenmaru said, deciding to spare their lives for now.

Meanwhile, Kaneki knew that he couldn't risk getting trapped or hit with the poison if he wanted to get his friends out of there. Wracking his brain for ideas, he remembered Sango and Kagome.  _Sango probably can't fight with that wound, but Kagome can. I can't leave this battle—all I can do is hope that they realize that we're taking too long, that something's gone wrong._

He was jerked out of his thoughts by one of the bandits screaming in pain. The bandit had apparently kicked the web, and the poison was burning his foot.  _Shit. How long can Inuyasha and Miroku last in there?_

Seeing that Gatenmaru had ordered one of the bandits to bring one of the women to him, Kaneki decided that he needed do something, and he needed to do it  _now._  He charged at Gatenmaru.

"Put. Her. Down!" he growled.

"Hm?" Gatenmaru barely dodged the punch in time.

"Brat! You're going to be a pain, aren't you?!" he said, breathing poison powder at Kaneki, who leapt backwards and to the side to avoid it. Gatenmaru paused.

"You seem to care about protecting people, brat. So, how about some  _fun?!_ "

He pulled one of the women up, one who had been sheltering her child, hoping to keep him out of the demon's sight.

"Choose which one you want to save—mother or son! If you choose correctly, I might just let the rest of them go!" he shouted gleefully, holding the mother and son up by the collars of their clothes.

Memories flashed through Kaneki's mind as he froze.

_"WHICH ONE WILL YOU KILL, KANEKI?" Yamori yelled, a mother and young child on the floor, the mother tied up and gagged and the child crying in terror._

_"How can I decide something like that?! Kaneki yelled back from his place tied to the chair._

_"Let me change the question, then! Which one will you SAVE?!"_

_Kaneki saw that the mother was nodding towards her child, wanting Kaneki to save him. Tears streamed down his face._

_"I can't choose! I won't be responsible for someone's death! Please, just let them go! They didn't do anything!" he pleaded._

_"If you won't choose, then I'll kill them both!" Yamori picked the child up by the neck, strangling him to death while the mother watched, sobbing through the gag._

_"No! Stop! They're innocent!"_

_The child went limp, and Yamori dropped his lifeless body to the ground._

_"She's next, Kaneki!" Yamori shouted gleefully, relishing the pain he was causing._

_He brought out his kagune and stabbed the mother through again and again and_ again _until there was nothing but a bloody mess of organs and body parts littering the ground._

_Kaneki hung his head, sobbing quietly._

_"Just remember, Kaneki," Yamori said, yanking Kaneki's chin up so he had to look into his eyes. "You didn't choose, and now_ you  _are responsible for_ both  _of their deaths. Think about that the next time you have a choice to make."_

_Yamori left the room, instructing one of his Ghoul henchman to clean up the mess._

"Not again…" Kaneki said quietly, his eyes wide in a horrified expression.

"What's this?" Gatenmaru taunted. "Have I struck a chord, somehow? Something in your past, maybe?"

Kaneki fell to his knees, clutching his head while the mother screamed and the child cried.

"Please, save him! Save my son, _please!_ " the mother cried to him.

Kaneki pulled at his hair, shaking as he knelt on the ground with terrible thoughts racing through his head.  _It's happening again it's happening again why is it happening again not again please not again why can't I move why can't I protect anyone why can't I protect anyone why caN'T I PROTECT ANYONE?!_

"You can save the child, but that may not be the right choice! And if it's not the right choice, then EVERYONE will die!" Gatenmaru laughed.

Kaneki suddenly stilled, vaguely hearing his name being called in the distance.

"Not again," he said quietly.

"What's that? I couldn't hear you!"

Kaneki stood up, his head still lowered.

"I said…"

Kaneki looked up, kakugan flaring as his kagune practically exploded from his back.

"…not  ** _AGAIN!_** "

He shot forward, punching clean through Gatenmaru's stomach with two of his kagune in the demon's brief moment of surprise.

"What's one thousand minus seven?" Kaneki growled, cracking a knuckle.

"W-Why… you l-little-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kaneki wrenched the two extra limbs diagonally in opposite directions, tearing the demon Gatenmaru in two. Blood showered the ground and anyone in the vicinity as the two halves went flying, eventually disintegrating in mid-air.

Silence followed, only broken by the  _clink_ of the Sacred Jewel shard falling to the ground.

Kaneki walked over to the mother and child, kneeling on one knee in front of them.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"G-Get away from us! You monster!" the mother yelled, clutching the child to close to her. The child looked at Kaneki with nothing but fear in his eyes.

Kaneki's eyes widened and he froze again, letting his kagune disappear and his kakugan return to normal.

"I-"

The mother scrambled up, still holding her child and ran to where the other women were.

"No! Stay away!"

Kaneki did his best to not show any emotion. He slowly stood up and turned to the bandits, who all cowered on the ground. Kaneki pointed away from the village.

"Go," he said, emotionless.

The gang of bandits scrambled away and ran out of the village, not daring to even look at their weapons, much less pick them up.

Kaneki glanced at the women one more time, showing no emotion as they glared at him with pure hatred.

He turned around to see Sango, Miroku and Shippo watching with an unidentifiable look on their faces. Only Kagome's and Inuyasha's emotions were clear: pity and concern from Kagome, and rage from Inuyasha.

Covered in blood, Kaneki walked towards them, then past them.

"Wait, Kaneki! Where are you going?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"To get the stench of this blood off of me," he replied flatly, not looking back as he made his way to a nearby river.

Kagome glared at the women of the village, who glared right back, showing no remorse whatsoever. She picked up the shard of the Sacred Jewel and Kaneki's eyepatch and ran to catch up with him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, just one more chapter to go until we reach the (pseudo-)ending of this fic! Remember, it won't be ending for good; just at a place where the fic can be thought of as ended in case I back myself into a corner with the plot.
> 
> Also, updates will not be regular after Chapter 11. (Which I'm sure some of you will be looking forward to, because that's the chapter where Kaneki's long-awaited encounter with a certain someone takes place! Hint: Their name starts with "S" and ends in "esshomaru".)


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there may have been some confusion: this is not the chapter where Kaneki encounters Sesshomaru. That's the next one, which is already written up, so I'll try to release it on the same schedule. . . .Well, the thing that vaguely resembles a schedule.
> 
> I also know that part of this chapter seems like a repeat of the last. However, it's from Kagome and the rest's point of view.
> 
> Aaand so here we go! The "final" chapter of A New Beginning!
> 
> ***EDIT: I've added a few lines at the end. A New Beginning: now 20% sadder! (I'll add a note at the beginning of the next chapter, as well.)***

 

**Kagome**

"They sure are taking a while," Shippo said. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I think we should go down there—they probably need our help," said Kagome. "Sango, are you okay to come with your arm?"

"Yes. I'll be fine," she replied.

"Then let's go."

They ran down the hill and towards the village, Shippo just barely keeping up. They arrived just in time to hear the demon taunt Kaneki, who fell to his knees, clutching his head as the demon held up a woman and a child.

"What's this?" the demon taunted. "Have I struck a chord, somehow? Something in your past, maybe?"

As they ran closer, they could see Kaneki shaking.

"Please, save him! Save my son, _please!_ " the woman cried.

Kagome was then distracted for a moment, wondering where Inuyasha and Miroku were. Acting on a hunch, she readied an arrow and aimed for the giant web cocoon that hung from a tree.

"Hopefully this doesn't hit them-!"

The sacred arrow shone pink as it flew through the air. It hit its target, sticking in the outside of the web which promptly disintegrated, revealing a hurt Inuyasha and a very tired Miroku.  _He must have been keeping up a shield,_ Kagome realized.

She then heard more taunts towards Kaneki from the demon:

"You can save the child, but that may not be the right choice! And if it's not the right choice, then EVERYONE will die!" the demon laughed.

"Kaneki?" Kagome called as she saw him go still.

"What's that? I couldn't hear you!" the demon said to him.

Kagome watched as Kaneki stood up, his head still lowered.

"I said…"

He looked up, and Kagome could see his kakugan was activated as his kagune exploded from his back.

"…not  ** _AGAIN!_** "

He shot forward, punching clean through the demon's stomach with two of his extra limbs while it was stunned from surprise.

"What's one thousand minus seven?" Kaneki growled, cracking a knuckle.

"W-Why… you l-little-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kaneki wrenched the two extra limbs diagonally in opposite directions, tearing the demon Gatenmaru in two. Blood showered the ground and anyone in the vicinity as the two halves went flying, eventually disintegrating in mid-air.

Silence followed, and Kagome could clearly hear the  _clink_ of the Sacred Jewel shard falling to the ground.

* * *

**[All]**

Sango helped Miroku up then offered a hand to Inuyasha, who—stubborn as always—refused, standing up on his own. They all watched as Kaneki knelt in front of the mother and child, asking if they were alright.

"G-Get away from us! You monster!" the mother yelled, clutching the child at her side close.

Kaneki seemed to freeze as his extra limbs faded to mist and his eye returned to normal.

"I-" he started to say, but the mother scrambled up, still holding her child, and ran to where the other women were.

"No! Stay away!" she shouted.

No emotion was visible on Kaneki's face as he slowly stood up and turned to the bandits, who were cowering on the ground. He pointed away from the village.

"Go," he said, his voice and face void of all emotion.

The gang of bandits scrambled away and ran out of the village without even looking at their weapons.

He turned around and saw the rest of the group standing there. Covered in blood, Kaneki walked towards them, then past them.

"Wait, Kaneki! Where are you going?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"To get the stench of this blood off of me," he replied flatly, not looking back as he made his way to a nearby river.

Kagome glared at the women of the village, who glared right back, showing no remorse whatsoever. She picked up the shard of the Sacred Jewel and Kaneki's eyepatch and ran to catch up with him.

The rest of the group watched them go, then turned around to look at the group of wives and mothers. Inuyasha spoke first.

"What is wrong with  _all_  of you?! He saves your asses and  _that's_ the thanks he gets?!" he shouted, glaring at them.

"You saw the way he ripped that guy apart! He's a monster!" the mother yelled back.

"Well, that  _monster_  just saved you, your son  _and_ the rest of you from  _being_  the ones ripped apart by that  _demon_. He even tried to make sure that you weren't hurt. He did his best, and all he got was  _hate._ You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Sango spat, turning and walking away.

Miroku shook his head in disappointment at them as he and Inuyasha turned to catch up with Sango and the rest.

* * *

**Kagome**

Kagome found Kaneki sitting on a rock by the riverbank, now cleansed of the blood. He had his head in his hands, but she could see that he was muttering something, apparently too absorbed in it to hear her approach.

". . .nine hundred thirty, nine hundred twenty three, nine hundred sixteen, nine hundred ni-"

"Kaneki…?" she said tentatively.

He turned around suddenly, startled. Realizing it was just Kagome, he relaxed and sighed tiredly.

"Hello, Kagome," he said quietly, looking away as she approached him, sitting beside him on the rock.

"I have your eyepatch," she said, handing it to him. He took it and—to Kagome's surprise—tucked it into his shirt along with his mask instead of putting it on.

"Thank you."

A few minutes of silence passed.

"Kaneki?" Kagome said.

"Hm?" he replied, not looking up.

"Are you. . .okay? What that woman said-"

"Was true," he interrupted. "I  _am_ a monster."

"Would a monster have saved that mother and child?" Kagome asked.

Kaneki winced, memories racing through his mind again.

_PICK ONE, KANEKI!_

"I couldn't save them…" he said to himself, looking down at the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked. "You saved both of them!"

"No. Not in my past I didn't."

"What do you mean?" she asked.  _Is he finally going to tell me what happened_ _…_ _?_

Kaneki took a deep breath, working up the courage to tell Kagome about his past.

"I wasn't always like this, you know," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"I used to be just a normal human living a normal human life. I went to University, where I studied literature. My best friend, Hide, would always tease me about being a bookworm. And I was. I wasn't athletic at all, I constantly had my nose in a book, and everything was just. . . _normal._  But then I went on a date with a girl named Rize Kamishiro."

A look of recognition crossed Kagome's face.  _When I woke him up from that nightmare, that's the name he yelled_ _…_

"Well, it turns out that  _Rize_  was a Ghoul, and she wasn't interested in dating—she was interested in  _eating_ me. I almost died that night, and I would have, if it wasn't for the doctor who transplanted her organs into me. Only the doctor didn't transplant just the ones I needed, he transplanted her kakuhou into me as well, effectively turning me into a half-Ghoul. I didn't want to accept it at first—I was in complete denial. But I met some good friends who worked at a coffee shop called Anteiku, which was run by Ghouls, though it had human customers, as well. Those friends showed me that Ghouls weren't just the mindless, bloodthirsty monsters the CCG made them out to be. They had feelings, they had families, they just wanted to have some semblance of  _normalcy_  instead of being constantly hunted.

"Everything was going as well as it could, given the situation. I did my best to keep this secret from Hide. I was  _terrified_ that he'd reject me, hate me, call me a  _monster._ I didn't want him to find out that I now had to  _eat_ people like him just to  _survive._  And then I… I was kidnapped. I was taken and…" Kaneki took a shuddering breath. "I was taken and I was- I was tortured for ten days. My captor, Yamori, was known for his ruthlessness and cruelty. He- He would cut off my fingers and toes with a pair of pliers made specially for the job. And because I heal so quickly, he would do this over and over and  _over_ again for hours at a time… I was told to count down from one thousand by seven while he did it. I know now that it… it was to keep me as conscious and sane as possible. And then one day, he brought in a female Ghoul and her child. He told me to choose which one would die, and I… I couldn't choose. So he killed both of them, and it was my fault that they died."

"Oh, Kaneki…" Kagome said quietly.  _So it really_ is  _Marie Antoinette syndrome,_ Kagome thought.  _And that explains why his nails are black, too._

"The only good thing that came out of that ten days of hell was getting rid of the ideology that my mother had drilled into my head since I was a kid: 'it's better to be the one getting hurt than to hurt others.' But even with that gone—even with me being willing and able to  _kill_  to protect the ones I care about—I  _couldn't._ I couldn't protect my friends, I couldn't  _save_  them. I just. . .wasn't strong enough. Physically  _or_ mentally." He let out a bitter laugh. "I think my breaking point was when Yamori shoved that centipede into my ear—and now I'm just  _so_ goddamn fucked up! Emotionally unstable,  _mentally_ unstable, depression, nightmares, flashbacks—the list goes on."

Kagome wanted to stop Kaneki right there—to comfort him, tell him that it's okay, that he had no control over the events, that it's  _not his fault._  But before she had a chance to interject, he kept going.

"I pushed my friends away when I finally escaped from Yamori; I thought I was protecting them. I thought I could get stronger, but I couldn't get strong  _enough._ I pushed Hide away, too. I thought I was protecting him as well, but instead I had to watch as he bled out in my arms while Anteiku—the only sanctuary I had ever known—burned to the ground during a raid by the CCG. And it turns out that  _he already knew._ He already knew! And I… I never got a chance to tell him how fucking _sorry_  I am…"

Kagome fought back tears, but she didn't interrupt him.

"My entire life has been just one giant tragedy, and I couldn't even get the  _ending_  right. When I jumped off that skyscraper, I ended up here instead of dying, and now-"

Kagome  _did_ interrupt him, now, pulling him into a tight hug.

"And now,  _you have another chance._ It's like the universe is apologizing for what you've been through," She said gently, releasing him from the hug.

Kaneki scoffed and looked off to the side.

"If the universe wanted to apologize, it should have let me  _die._ "

**SLAP.**

Kaneki looked up in shock at Kagome, her hand raised and his face stinging.

"Did you just-"

"Yes, I did," Kagome said, her face set into a stern expression. "Don't talk like that, Kaneki. If anyone,  _anyone_ deserves a second chance, it's you. Look at what you've been through! Yes, you may have tried to end it, but look at  _how far you've come._  This is a chance for you to go even  _farther._  You have friends here who are ready to help you, and you don't have to push them away this time.  _We are here for you, Kaneki._ And don't you  _ever_ forget that!"

* * *

**[All]**

Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kirara sat behind a rock, downwind of where Kaneki and Kagome were talking. Little did the pair know that rest of the group had heard  _everything._

Sango had a hand over her mouth, holding back tears, Shippo was doing his best to sniffle very,  _very_ quietly, Miroku had a sympathetic expression, and even  _Inuyasha_ looked downcast. He remembered how he had been against Kaneki from the very start, ranting to Kagome and Lady Kaede about how he was dangerous to have around, theorizing that  _he_ was what his friends were running away from—and Kaneki's reaction to that statement:

_". . .I_ _'_ _m a monster I don't deserve to live I don't deserve to live I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE! I SHOULD JUST KILL MYSELF!"_

_He was_ _…_ _He was actually serious…_ Inuyasha thought.  _He really, truly thinks that way_ _…_

Kagome got to the end of her speech.

". . .And don't you  _ever_ forget that!"

Before Kaneki could respond, Sango stood up and walked out from behind the rock. His reaction was instantaneous: his eyes widened as he stood up and took a few steps back, looking like a deer caught in headlights, wanting to flee but paralyzed by fear.

"H-How much did you hear?" he choked out, clearly terrified of the answer.

"All of it," Sango said.

Kaneki was shaking even though he was doing his best to maintain his composure.

"And I agree with Kagome  _completely,_ as do the rest of us."

"What do you m-"

He stopped mid-sentence, squeezing his eyes shut and pulling at his hair as the rest of the group walked out from behind the rock.

"God  _fucking_ damn it, no, no, no no no nonono-" He stopped and took several deep breaths before he worked himself into hysterics. "Why?! I- I can't- You weren't supposed to hear that!" he almost shouted.

"But we did," Inuyasha said. He walked forward, and Kaneki didn't think he'd felt fear like this since his abduction. "And… Sango's right. We all agree with Kagome."

"We're here for you, Kaneki," Miroku said, confirming Kagome's earlier statement.

"And I… I want to apologize," Inuyasha said, looking at the ground. "When we first met, I didn't trust you at all. I said some pretty horrible things and no doubt made things worse for you. And… And I'm sorry for that."

"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered.

Kaneki had stopped shaking. He looked at everyone in shock—especially Inuyasha.

"But, why would you help someone like me—a  _monster_ like me? Why would you-"

Kaneki didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Will you stop with this 'monster' nonsense?!" Inuyasha shouted, a complete one-eighty from the mood just a few moments earlier.

Kagome sweat-dropped, knowing that Inuyasha's brain wasn't going to filter whatever came out of his mouth next. Luckily, Sango interrupted.

"Inuyasha's right, Kaneki. You're not a monster—from what you've said, you clearly don't have a choice. You never wanted this, and personally? Whoever did this to you, I want to kick their  _ass._  Because  _they_ are the one responsible. You did  _nothing_ wrong."

Shippo jumped up on Kaneki's shoulder to reaffirm what everyone had already said, and as Kaneki stood there amongst this group—amongst his  _friends,_ he felt better than he had in a long time. They  _were_ there to help him—there was no doubt about that.

And maybe,  _just maybe,_ he could start to pick up the pieces of his shattered self and begin to put them back together, one by one.

He could only wonder how everyone back in his Tokyo was doing. Yes, he would miss them dearly and would always remember them—the ache in his heart would never cease. But the hopeful now is not the time to dwell on the painful past. Because Kaneki finally had his chance; the Shikon no Tama had heard his wish. He finally had. . .his new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter probably didn't feel like much of a grand finale, and that's because it isn't. As I've said in the last several chapter's notes, this will continue. Just not on a regular schedule (after the next chapter). However, I'm sorry nonetheless. ^^;
> 
> I'd also like to thank you all for sticking with me throughout this thing. I honestly didn't think this would get as popular as it is! Over 15,000 views on FanFiction.Net and over 750 hits (plus all the kudos!) here as of today (8/31/2017, for future reference)! Can you believe that?! This has been a long ride filled with bouts of both inspiration and writer's block, and your reviews and kudos have really inspired me to keep it up! Again, thank you all so much. Your readership and feedback really do mean a lot to me!


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I've added a few lines at the very end of the previous chapter—just the very last paragraph. Nothing else has been changed, except for (hopefully) the level of sadness.
> 
> Here we go: the long-awaited Kaneki vs. Sesshomaru chapter! I'm not sure I did the fight scene justice, but I did my best. ^^;

 

**Kaneki**

Kaneki awoke to the sunlight gently filtering through the branches and onto his face. After the conversation that had taken place the previous day, they had set up camp in the forest. Kaneki had slept soundly, his dreams free from nightmares.

Sitting up and looking around the small camp the group had made for the night, he saw that everyone else was still asleep while the campfire smoldered faintly, giving off only the smallest amounts of smoke.

Not having much else to do, Kaneki stood up and quietly made his way out of the camp. He stopped about fifteen feet away and lied down on his back in a small, sunny patch of grass, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. He sighed. It had been so,  _so_  long since he'd had a chance to just relax like this. He did his best to push the worries and self-doubt down for now—he would worry and doubt himself later. Now was the time to just  _relax._

He enjoyed the silence, broken only by birdsong and rustling leaves.

Eventually, however, he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching, but he could smell who it was: Sango and Kirara.

The footsteps stopped beside him and he heard her sit down with Kirara, who promptly curled up and fell asleep. He cracked open an eye and looked at her.

"Hey, Sango," he said.

"Hey," she greeted as he closed his eye again. A moment of silence passed. "It's so peaceful out here, isn't it."

"Mhm."

After a few minutes, Sango broke the silence once again.

"So, Kaneki," she started.

"Hm?"

"What exactly  _is_ a Ghoul?"

Kaneki opened his eyes and stiffened, then hesitantly sat up, not making eye contact.  _It's okay. They heard everything and haven't rejected you. They won't abandon you, they won't they won't they won't—_

"Kaneki?"

He jumped a little, startled out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You spaced out for a moment, there. Are you okay?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah," he said, scratching his chin and looking off to the side. He still hadn't been able to shake his telltale sign of lying, though the others didn't know what it was. Yet.

Sango looked at him skeptically.

"O-kay. Well, then, are you going to tell me about Ghouls?"

Kaneki thought for a moment, weighing his options.  _They have to find out sooner or later_ _…_

"Y-Yeah," he said. Just as he took a breath to give the explanation he had given Kagome, Miroku walked over and joined them, as did Shippo.

"I've been wondering that, too, actually," said Miroku.

"Yeah! And you said you'd tell me later!" Shippo put in.

Kaneki sighed.  _Hopefully this won't scare Shippo_ too  _badly._

He then launched into the explanation he had given Kagome and Inuyasha, watching the trio's reactions closely. They seemed interested, mostly, but then he got to  _that_ part.

". . .And people are so afraid of them because they—and keep in mind, it's not by choice—they can only eat humans." Kaneki held his breath, waiting for them to scream, yell, call him a  _monster._

But none of that happened.

"My original statement stands, Kaneki. I want to find whoever did this to you and  _kick_ their  _ass,_ " Sango said vehemently.

"I second that," Miroku said. He had a calm exterior, but his eyes clearly showed how angry he was.

"Me too!" Shippo said. "That's awful! I can't believe someone would do that!"

Kaneki exhaled in relief and smiled slightly.  _What did I do to deserve friends like these?_

* * *

**[All]**

Sango then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially:

"How did  _Inuyasha_ react to this?"

Kaneki thought, choosing his words carefully.

"Let's just say that Inuyasha was Inuyasha, and the word 'sit' was involved."

He said this just as Kagome walked over, Inuyasha behind her.

"When did I say 'sit?'" she asked curiously.

"Agh!" Inuyasha exclaimed, violently faceplanting the ground.

"Whoops! Sorry, Inuyasha," Kagome said, sweat-dropping. Shippo was trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

Inuyasha lifted his head, grumbling angrily—with a salamander stuck to the bridge of his nose.

Shippo couldn't contain his laughter any longer. Kagome snickered, Sango held a hand up to her mouth, trying not to laugh, Miroku shook his head and tried not to smile, and Kaneki couldn't help but smile, too.

"What? What's so funny?!" Inuyasha shouted, glaring at everyone from the ground.

Kagome did her best to tell him between giggles.

"Y-You've— _snicker—_ You've got— _giggle_ —You'vegotasalamanderstucktoyournose!"

"Huh?!" Inuyasha said, trying to look at the bridge of his nose—which only resulted in a comically surprised expression. Kagome burst into laughter, as did Sango and Miroku. Shippo was practically crying.  _Everyone_ was laughing now—even Kaneki.

Kirara, awoken by all the noise, spotted the salamander. She jumped up and raced towards Inuyasha's face, pouncing on the poor creature. She lifted her paws and batted at it, causing it to finally fall to the ground, where it quickly scurried under a rock. Inuyasha sat up and turned his head away, trying not to look embarrassed.

"Hmph! It's not  _my_ fault my face was on the ground,  _Kagome!_ "

Everyone just laughed harder, enjoying this happy moment.

* * *

_A while after everyone had calmed down from the salamander incident, the group decided to head back to Lady Kaede's village. Kagome needed to restock some supplies and everyone just needed a break—especially Kaneki. He knew he would probably need to eat soon, too, so he hoped that when Kagome went back, he could find a body in Tokyo._

_They set out on the journey. Halfway to the village, however, they ran into trouble._

_Sesshomaru had witnessed the incident with Gatenmaru at the village, and saw how Kaneki ripped the demon in two. Interested, he decided he would test the half-Ghoul's strength—and find out what he was for himself._

* * *

**Kaneki**

The group was walking along a well-worn path with forest on one side and a field filled with wildflowers on the other; the sun shone, birds sang, and it was a beautiful day just in general. They had been walking for about half an hour in a comfortable silence, which was broken by Kagome.

"So, Kaneki," she said, moving to walk side-by-side with him. "How are you?"

"Could you actually, uh, keep your distance a little bit, please?" Kaneki said. "I'm getting kind of-" he was interrupted by a loud growl from his stomach. Kagome quickly stepped to the side.

"O-Oh, okay! Sorry!"

"It's fine," Kaneki said sheepishly. He still wasn't quite comfortable with the fact that the others knew about his eating habits, but he figured it was as Kagome said: it's better that they know now than them stumbling across him hunched over a dead body, covered in blood.

Inuyasha, who was at the front of the group, suddenly stopped and sniffed the air.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

The half-demon turned to look at the field behind them. Following his gaze, the group saw what had caught Inuyasha's attention.

"Sesshomaru," he growled.

"Sesshomaru?" Kaneki asked, puzzled.

"Inuyasha's older brother. He's got a vendetta against him because their father gifted the sword Sesshomaru wanted to Inuyasha. The fact that Inuyasha's a half-demon while Sesshomaru is a full-blooded demon doesn't help things, either," Kagome explained as the demon in question drew closer and the group readied their weapons. Kagome turned her attention back to the approaching threat, as did Kaneki, who got into a fighting stance.

"What do you want,  _Sesshomaru?_ " Inuyasha said with a sneer, making no effort to disguise his hatred.

"Nothing with you," Sesshomaru replied emotionlessly, but somehow still with just as much venom. He stopped about twenty feet away from the group and pointed a clawed finger at Kaneki. "No, I'm interested in  _you._ "

"What?" Kagome exclaimed. "What could you possibly want with Kaneki?!"

Sesshomaru ignored her in favor of attempting to stare down Kaneki, who held his ground and met Sesshomaru's gaze steadily. With neither the demon nor the half-Ghoul breaking eye-contact, Sesshomaru continued.

"You smell half human, but the other scent is not that of a demon. Yet you still display abilities which a human could not have," he said. "So my question is:  _What are you?_ "

"I don't have to answer that," Kaneki said bluntly.

"Very well," Sesshomaru said menacingly, drawing his sword, Tokijin. "I'll just find out for  _myself_ , then."

He leapt forward towards Kaneki, who jumped back and dodged just as the sword struck the ground where he had been standing.

"Fine," Kaneki said, cracking a knuckle. "You want to find out? Then  _let me show you._ " He released four of his kagune, his kakugan activating with the action. He noticed the rest of the group drawing their weapons at the same time Sesshomaru did.

"Stay out of this!" they said in unison.

"But-" Kagome started, but was interrupted by the half-Ghoul.

"I'll be fine," he said in a stern but reassuring tone.

Kagome nodded.

"Just be careful!"

Kaneki nodded back.

"I will."

He then shot towards his opponent and attempted to strike with two of his kagune, but Sesshomaru easily blocked the attack.

Blow after blow was exchanged, each one striking, blocking, countering, and dodging in turn. Sesshomaru tried to use Tokijin's energy attacks several times, but Kaneki avoided every single one.

Eventually, however, Kaneki's hunger began to take its toll.

His movements were slowing bit by bit and he was breathing heavily-something that his friends did not fail to notice. Sesshomaru was getting fatigued, too, but less so than Kaneki—and he'd be damned if he let it show.

The two leapt backwards away from each other and glared, seemingly at a stalemate.

It was Kaneki who attacked first.

He rushed towards Sesshomaru and feigned trying to swipe at him with his kagune. As Sesshomaru moved to block the "strike", Kaneki used another of his extra limbs to grab Sesshomaru's sword-wielding arm. However, instead of trying to free his arm as Kaneki had guessed he would, Sesshomaru tossed Tokijin into his other hand, and hurled it at Kaneki.

Kaneki didn't have time to dodge, as there was only about seven feet between him and Sesshomaru. The sword flew through the air for that short distance, and embedded itself in Kaneki's abdomen.

"Agh!"

He coughed up blood as his kagune disintegrated and he fell to his knees.

"Kaneki!"

He heard Kagome yell his name as he pulled the sword out and flung it to the side, blood running from his mouth. He tried to stand up, but stumbled back down onto his hands and knees, coughing up more blood. He glared up at Sesshomaru, who slowly approached as Kaneki started to heal. He could feel his insides knitting themselves back together as Sesshomaru picked up his sword.

Kaneki managed to stand just as the wolf demon turned to look at him.

"Interesting. You heal at an accelerated rate. But why do you only heal half-way?" he said.

Kaneki didn't need to look down to know what Sesshomaru was talking about. He could feel that he had ceased to continue healing, and also that he was getting  _very_ hungry.

"Perhaps. . .you need a larger  _wound_ ," Sesshomaru taunted menacingly. Just as Kaneki was about to leap out of the way of the would-be sword strike, he heard Kagome yell Sesshomaru's name as a sacred arrow whizzed by, forcing Sesshomaru to leap out of the way.

* * *

**[All]**

"That's  _enough!_ " Kagome said as she and the rest of the group walked forward, Kagome moving to stand between the half-Ghoul and demon. "Why are you doing this, Sesshomaru?!" Kagome exclaimed. "He didn't do anything!"

"I'm merely curious as to what he can do," he replied.

Kagome was beyond angry.

"Well, you've seen. Now  _go!_ "

"You have some nerve, talking to your superior like that," Sesshomaru said, his threat just barely disguised.

That did it. Kagome had had  _enough._

"Superior this, superior that. You're just a demon—a demon like all the other mindless, bloodthirsty  _scum_ who attack for the sake of attacking!"

"Uh, Kagome…?" Miroku said carefully. "Maybe it's best to  _not_ provoke the powerful demon."

However, it was too late. Sesshomaru would  _not_ be spoken to like that.

"'Just a demon,' you say?" he said, approaching slowly, but clearly with malicious intent. He pointed his sword at Kagome, who stood her ground.

"Don't you  _fucking_ touch her!" Kaneki growled.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? You're in no condition to stop me."

Sesshomaru raised his sword, but Kagome still did not move.

"Kagome! What the hell are you doing?! Get out of there!" Inuyasha shouted, but to no avail.

Suddenly, Kaneki started to chuckle.

Sesshomaru paused.

"Is something about this  _amusing_ to you?" he asked, but Kaneki just laughed, his head lowered and his bangs hiding his face.

Kagome was just as confused as everyone else until Kaneki's laugh started to distort and the purple mask started to form—just like it had at the bandit camp. He raised his head as the centipede-like kagune exploded from his back, along with his regular rinkaku. The purple mask was fully formed.

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Sesshomaru asked.

He never got an answer.

Without warning, Kaneki shot past Sesshomaru, who thought he had dodged just in time. When he felt blood trickling down his face from his ear—and saw the blood on Kaneki's mouth—he realized that he hadn't.

_Did he. . .Did he just_ bite  _me?!_

Kaneki's wounds once again began to heal, and Kagome took this opportunity to run.

Kaneki launched himself at Sesshomaru, who was astonished at the increase in speed, strength, and agility the boy had.

They once again started that deadly dance: strike, block, counter, dodge. Rinse and repeat.

Each landed several hits on the other, Kaneki's healing almost immediately—demon flesh possesses many more Rc cells than a normal human's (along with demonic energy, which gives it an extra boost).

The group stood in awe as Kaneki matched and even  _overpowered_ Sesshomaru, who was now on the defensive. Strike after ruthless strike came from Kaneki, who held nothing back. With Sesshomaru's growing fatigue, it was clear who would win this battle.

Eventually, Sesshomaru jumped back towards the forest. With how bruised and battered he was, his intentions were clear: he was retreating. Kaneki seemed to sense this and didn't follow him as he walked as pridefully as he could—which wasn't very pridefully at all—into the forest.

As the group watched his figure fade into the foliage, they could hardly believe what had just happened. The thoughts going through their heads were all some variation of, "Did. . .Did Sesshomaru just retreat?! After he was  _defeated?!_ "

All but one seemed about ready to congratulate Kaneki. Kagome remembered what had happened last time Kaneki had been in this state, and she feared the worst. Kaneki was still in a battle stance, breathing heavily. He shuddered, bringing his hand up to his forehead, and Kagome prepared to warn the others, her grip on her weapon tightening. But, to her surprise, Kaneki's extra limbs and mask simply dissipated and he stumbled a bit, but then turned around to face her and the rest of the group. He tried to quickly straighten back up, but ended up stumbling again, putting a hand to his head.

Clearly, this fight had been taxing on him, as well as Sesshomaru.

He looked back up at everyone, not missing the uncertainty in Kagome's expression. Sango was the first to speak.

"You seriously just beat Sesshomaru, didn't you?" she asked in disbelief.

"Is. . .Is that a good thing?" Kaneki asked, still seemingly in a slight daze.

"Of course it is!" Sango exclaimed. "Hell, it's an  _amazing_ thing! It would have taken all of us combined to beat him in a fight like that!"

The half-Ghoul scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. He wasn't used to his abilities or what he could do being called "amazing"—especially his kakuja state. He was more used to being called a  _monster._

"Well, uh... That's good, then," he said.

"Oh, no! You don't get to be all modest about this. You should be proud of yourself!"

Before Kaneki could reply or anyone else could chime in, Kagome spoke.

"Well, we'd better get going!" she said, a false cheeriness in her voice. "That is, unless we want to make the end of our journey in complete darkness!" She turned and began to walk in the direction of Lady Kaede's village, while everyone else shared a look.

"What's gotten into  _her?_ " asked Inuyasha. All but one shrugged and went to catch up with Kagome. Kaneki, however, stayed a bit behind the group. No one had any idea what was going on with Kagome but him—he knew  _exactly_ what was going on. And, frankly, he was just as puzzled and concerned as Kagome probably was.

_Why didn't I lose control this time?_ he thought.  _I almost did, but I didn't. So what changed? Was it something in that bite I took out of Sesshomaru? If so, then what?_

He sighed, and broke into a jog to catch up with the rest of the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm aware that Ghouls don't go into a kakuja state every time they're hungry. Things just worked out that way. And it makes for a more exciting fic, doesn't it?


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place around Episode 60 of the InuYasha anime: "Fifty Year Curse of the Dark Priestess", and the events are loosely based on such.

 

**Kagome**

When they finally arrived at Kaede's village, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara got settled while Kagome headed almost immediately for the Bone-Eater's Well. Kaneki's hunger had been sated quite a bit, but he thought that it would probably be a good idea to try and find a body, anyway. So he followed her, climbing out of the Well a few moments after she did.

He wasn't surprised when she didn't leave the shrine that housed the Well right away, but instead hesitated by the door.

"Kagome...?" he said, not moving from his position by the Well, uncertainty in his voice.

A silent moment passed, one which seemed like an eternity. Finally, she spoke.

"...Do you have  _any_ idea what happened? Why you didn't... y'know..." she said, not turning to face him.

"Lose control?"

"Yeah... That."

"I was actually hoping that you'd have an idea."

Kagome just sighed.

"Look, Kaneki-" she started.

"Kagome, I-" he said at the same time.

"Sorry, go ahead."

"No, you first."

Kaneki sighed again, knowing that he wouldn't win the, "No,  _you_  tell me what's weighing on your mind!" argument. He sat down on the edge of the well and took a deep breath.

"I was just going to say that. . .I'm sorry if I scared you—and I can tell that I did. Hell, I was scared,  _myself._  I did have to fight to stay in control a few times, especially at first, but after I bit Sesshomaru, I felt like I could actually  _stay_ in control. I don't know what changed. I don't know if it was something in the bite I took out of Sesshomaru, or if it's some other factor that's related to my mental or emotional state, or even a combination of the two. I just. . .I'm as confused as you are. Confused and concerned. Because I can't guarantee that whatever happened is going to last. On that note, however, I feel like we should try to figure out what it was, so we can prevent a repeat of the  _first_ time that happened in this world."

"You mean that you  _know_ you lose control when you get like that—whatever  _that_ is? And you still let it happen?"

"It's called a kakuja, and I. . .I don't exactly have control over  _when_  I go into that state. At least, not yet."

"Yet?"

"A Ghoul becomes a kakuja by. . .by continually cannibalizing other Ghouls. They contain a much higher level of Rc cells than humans do, and getting that many Rc cells that fast causes a mutation which makes the Ghoul in question much more powerful. But the mutation happens in stages, which more Rc cells are needed to complete. And until it's complete, whenever the Ghoul goes into that kakuja state—for lack of better wording—insane, and they lose control."

"And so. . .you didn't get a chance to get as many Rc cells as you needed before you- you-"

"Tried to kill myself? Yeah. That's. . .part of the reason I jumped, actually. I didn't want to put anyone else in danger—whether I knew them or not."

"Oh."

Kagome remained uncomfortable silent for a few moments, then sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at the ground. "I'm just... I'm tense. Tense, and worried for you. Because who's to say that you're not going to lose control later?"

"Kagome, if I didn't lose control  _while_ in that state, then I'm  _definitely_ not going to  _after_ I've come out of it," Kaneki said. Then, after a moment: "Unless I start to starve.  _Then_ we'd have a problem. Speaking of, I should probably go find something to eat..."

"O-Oh! Right, of course!" Kagome said, clearly still uncomfortable.

She slid the shrine door open and began to head towards her house at a quicker-than-usual pace. Kaneki started to watch her go, but then made a decision. He quickly caught up to her and gently grabbed her shoulder. She turned around, barely concealing her startled jump.

"I mean it, Kagome. I'm  _not_ going to lose control."

Kagome nodded, seemingly reassured.

"Okay," she said, and they headed their separate ways.

* * *

After their conversation that night, Kagome's uncertainty had ebbed a great deal. She knew Kaneki was right: she had just let her fear get the best of her—which she felt extremely guilty about.

_After all the times I said that we'd be there for him, and I just had to go and pull a stunt like this,_ she thought forlornly as she restocked her bag.  _I can only hope I didn't hurt him too_   _much._

Kagome finished packing her bag, exited her home and headed towards the shrine, pausing briefly too look out over Tokyo.  _I wonder where he is now..._

* * *

**Kaneki**

Meanwhile, Kaneki had found a dead body after almost an hour of searching. He made sure to note the location, hoping that this would turn out to be an at least  _semi-_ reliable source of food.

He almost ran into trouble along the way, though.

He had just finished eating when he heard voices—presumably the police—looking for the body. He quickly ran and jumped out of sight, just in time to avoid the beam of a flashlight.

"What the hell?!" one of them said.

"Eh, probably just wild dogs. This is gonna make identifying this guy one hell of a job though," the other replied, running a hand down his face in exasperation.

"I don't know, this looks like more than just wild dogs," the first said, uneasiness clear in his tone.

"You're over-thinking things. Just help me get 'em in the body bag."

Kaneki didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation—he had gotten lucky. This time.

* * *

**Kagome & Inuyasha**

Climbing up and out of the other side of the Bone-Eater's Well, Kagome could sense that something was off. She set her freshly-restocked bag down and looked around warily, seeing nothing.

Just as she was about to brush the feeling off, she felt something bite her leg.

"Ow! What was that?!"

She looked down, but again, saw nothing.  _There's nothing there. . .but I_ know _something just bit me._

Just then, Inuyasha appeared, coming up the crest of the hill.

"Kagome! What took you so long?!" he shouted, coming to stand beside her and clearly annoyed.

"Something just bit me! I didn't see anything, but something definitely did!" she said, ignoring his question in favor of addressing the uneasy feeling that was growing by the second.

"What?!" Inuyasha sniffed the air for a moment, then headed off towards the forest. He rounded a wall of rock and came face to face with a hulking beast.

" _Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!_ " he shouted as he attacked, though it wasn't much of an attack—his claws went right through the creature. Inuyasha opened his hand and found scraps of paper instead of blood.  _Huh, weird._

He made his way back to the Well where Kagome still sat, the uneasy feeling almost completely subsided.

"Well?" she asked. Inuyasha simply opened his palm, revealing the scraps of paper.

* * *

**Tsubaki & Naraku**

Meanwhile, in a deep part of the forest, a woman with long gray hair and a demon who's human-like features were completely obscured with the skin of a baboon conspired. The woman stretched out her arm as a white snake curled around it, opening its mouth to reveal fangs covered in blood.

"You have Kagome's blood," the demon said. "Now what, Tsubaki?"

"Patience, Naraku," Tsubaki said. "We must go to my altar first.  _Then_ we can curse the wretched girl."

Naraku laughed and disappeared into thin air along with the dark priestess Tsubaki and her demon snake familiar.

* * *

**[All]**

"You're  _sure_ something bit you?" Inuyasha asked. "There's no bite mark!"

Everyone but Kaneki sat in Lady Kaede's hut, Inuyasha and Lady Kaede examining Kagome's ankle. A fire roared under a fresh pot of stew, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Kagome said. "I definitely felt something. And you found that. . . _thing_ made out of paper, right?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"Lady Kaede and I felt a demonic aura earlier—and a strong one at that. Perhaps the three are connected," Miroku said.

"Inuyasha, let me see those scraps of paper," Kaede said, holding out her hand. Inuyasha gave them to her, and she examined them closely. "Hm... I believe this to be the work of the dark priestess Tsubaki."

"The dark priestess Tsubaki?" Shippo asked. "Who's that?"

"Tsubaki is an evil priestess who tried to curse Kikyo long ago. Kikyo came out victorious, reflecting Tsubaki's own curse right back at her."

"But why go after me?" Kagome asked.

"It is not a stretch to think she would go after Kikyo's reincarnation. I believe that is the reason."

_Crack!_

"Huh? That sounded like..." Kagome took out the bottle of Sacred Jewel shards around her neck.

**_Crack!_ **

"What the-" Inuyasha started.

"The shards. . .they're turning black!" Kagome exclaimed.

**_CRACK!_ **

The bottle shattered, the blackened shards of the Sacred Jewel flying out of it. . .

"Kagome!" Shippo shouted.

. . .and into Kagome's body.

They seemed to dissolve into the skin, embedding themselves just underneath her collar bone, radiating a dark energy that was clearly affecting Kagome already. She fell backwards with her eyes squeezed shut and a groan of pain, Inuyasha catching her just before she hit her head on the floor.

"Oh no, a curse!" Miroku said with worry.

"Curse or no curse, what the hell do we do now?!" Inuyasha shouted.

"The only way for ye to undo the curse is to kill Tsubaki herself. However, one of ye should stay here with Kagome," Kaede said, sending a meaningful look at Inuyasha.

"We'll go get this priestess!" Sango said. She jumped up, Miroku following suit. "Miroku, can you feel where she might be?"

He stepped outside of the hut and closed his eyes in focus, using his staff to feel for the evil aura Tsubaki was undoubtedly exuding. He opened his eyes.

"That way!" he shouted.

"Kirara, come on!"

Kirara transformed with a roar, and Miroku and Sango quickly jumped onto her back, flying into the distance. Lady Kaede turned to Shippo.

"Come, Shippo. Let us get some water to cool Kagome's fever."

As Inuyasha watched everyone leave, he was torn between two options. He wanted to go help Sango and Miroku in their fight, but someone needed to be here with Kagome. He clenched his fist in a combination of worry and frustration and headed back into the hut where Kagome lay, a curse upon her whose effects were still unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the shorter chapter, but stay tuned for the next one, where things are about to get very interesting...


End file.
